Taking a Stand
When I heard about the People’s Climate March planned for Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014, I decided our New
York stores would not conduct business as usual that day. I decided that our four stores in NYC would
remain closed until 3 p.m. so employees would have the option to take part. I decided to join them.
Both sets of my grandparents immigrated to the United States from Italy through Ellis Island in the
1920s, and most of my family still lives on Staten Island. My family felt firsthand the effects of Hurricane
Sandy and watched cherished places come to ruin. Raffeolo Miccio, my maternal great-grandfather,
worked as a laborer digging the streets of NYC for 10 cents a day. It was not lost on me that some of the
very streets we marched on that Sunday were the ones he labored side by side with other immigrants
to build. They wanted to create a better future for their children and grandchildren, and to build a city
they could love and call home.
I know my great-grandfather would want me to march against the forces of climate change because
he loved this country, its freedoms, its diversity, its promise. Until his death at 98, he found peace and
solitude in wild places like the Catskill Mountains, and was a fisherman and an organic gardener.
And I knew that Patagonia needed to help make a stand for future generations and inspire other
businesses to do the same. We stood up for a healthy planet and encouraged lawmakers to make climate
change an absolute priority.
In this report on our environmental and social responsibility work, you’ll see other ways in which
Patagonia has tried to meet the challenges of our time. We continue to grow our support for grassroots
environmental groups working to restore rivers, stop mines and protect endangered wildlife, giving
$6.2 million this year in cash and in-kind donations to 741 different groups. On other fronts, we created
$20 Million & Change in 2013 to help like-minded, responsible companies bring about positive benefit
to the environment. To date, we’ve received more than 650 requests for investments. You’ll read here
about which ones we have supported so far.
Working with Verité, we developed a comprehensive migrant worker standard for the factories we
work with. The White House invited us to present our work at the White House Forum on Combating
Human Trafficking in Supply Chains.
We launched our Worn Wear repair tour to prolong the useful life of our clothing and change people’s
relationships with their stuff. And we introduced two new products to Patagonia Provisions: fruit bars
(just organic fruit, nuts, seeds and juice) and tsampa soup, a simple staple made with organic, roasted
whole grains and vegetables.
We celebrated the opening of Patagonia Park in the Aysén region of Chile, a 10-year endeavor led
by Kris Tompkins, our former CEO and current board member. And this year we launched an effort
to build 50 miles of new trails in this remarkable place as part of our New Localism campaign.
I hope you’ll find this book both inspiring and daunting. We have to keep the pressure on, and that’s
what the many groups you will read about in this book are doing. The forces that seek to destroy the
world won’t stop. What they don’t realize is —we won’t stop, either.

Rose Marcario, Patagonia CEO

4

environmental + social initiatives

The signs are unmistakable.
photo: Tim Davis

2015

5

6

environmental + social initiatives

Upwards of 400,000 people took to the
streets of NYC on Sept. 21, 2014, to protest
the lack of meaningful progress toward
mitigating climate change. Our CEO and
some of our employees joined them.
photos: Tim Davis

2015

Gone Marching
We close our NYC stores so employees
can attend the People’s Climate March

Fed up with a lack of meaningful progress toward dealing with climate change,
an estimated 400,000 people took to the streets of New York City on Sept. 21,
2014, to participate in the People’s Climate March. Among them were former Vice
President Al Gore, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Patagonia employees and
our CEO, Rose Marcario.
The march was organized by a dozen or so environmental, labor and social
justice groups. It came on the heels of flooding, drought, wildfires and erratic
weather worldwide, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s

We cannot sit idly
by while large special

announcement that 2014 was on the way toward becoming the hottest year
on record—which it was.
“It is the work of this generation to make clear we reject the status quo—a race
toward the destruction of our planet and the wild places we play in and love,” Rose

interests destroy the

wrote in a blog post published on Patagonia’s The Cleanest Line, which garnered

planet for profit without

planet for profit without regard for our children and grandchildren.

regard for our children
and grandchildren.

media attention. “We cannot sit idly by while large special interests destroy the
“We have to keep the pressure on. That means being loud and visible in the
streets, in town halls and our capitals, and most important, in our elections—voting
for candidates who understand we are facing a climate crisis. It means protecting
local surf breaks, rivers, grasslands, mountains—and supporting sustainable agriculture. We have to take personal responsibility, and that means consuming less
and leading simpler, more examined lives.”
Inspired by a request from employees in our NYC stores to join the march,
we didn’t open our retail doors in the city until 3 p.m. We also invited customers
to join us at our Upper West Side store for a pre-march community gathering with
representatives from Protect Our Winters, Catskill Mountainkeeper, New Yorkers
Against Fracking and HeadCount, sweetening the event with giveaways, coffee
and bagels before taking to the streets.

7

C e l e b r a t i n g S u cc e ss

Keystone XL
In February 2015, President Obama vetoed legislation passed by
Congress authorizing construction of the Keystone XL tar sands
oil pipeline. This was only the third veto of his presidency. A veto
doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean the pipeline will never be built. But the current
oil glut makes the economics less attractive, and the likelihood the State Department will decide the pipeline is against
our national interest will stall it for the foreseeable future.
Campaigns to stop mines and oil fields, take out dams,

in three long-term campaigns that this year saw movement in

restore rivers, and secure permanent protection for endan-

the right direction. There is a long way to go before declaring

gered species and environmentally sensitive areas can take

victory for any of them, but we wanted to note these import-

decades. And sometimes theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re unsuccessful. So when they

ant successes, the first of which appears here, the others on

do succeed, even in part, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to take a moment

pages 24 and 44.

to recognize the progress made. Patagonia has had a hand

Members of the Overpass Light Brigade
share their opposition to Keystone XL
with commuters in Madison, Wisconsin.
photo: Wendi Kent

The New Localism

The New Localism campaign recognizes we can no longer pass through
remote, wild places and trust they
will remain that way. Brought to life
through stories of athlete ambassadors and activists, it engages our
community to protect threatened
places that are home to the sports
that inspire our adventures and
the products our company makes.
In spring 2015 we launched campaigns linked to running, surfing
and climbing.

10

environmental + social initiatives

Ultrarunners Krissy Moehl, Jeff Browning and Luke
Nelson ran 106 miles through newly opened Patagonia
Park in Chile to highlight and celebrate Conservación
Patagónica’s efforts to re-wild and protect this
magnificent landscape. photos: James Q Martin

2015

Mile for Mile
Patagonia Park, in the Aysén region of Chile, is now open
to the public. The park sweeps from the northern ice cap,
down to the Baker River and out to the arid borderlands
of Argentina. Its glaciated peaks, grasslands, beech forests,
lakes, rivers and wetlands still boast all of their original
species—and the rivers still run free. Patagonia has been
involved in this project from day one, working with nonprofit
Conservación Patagónica. We helped with the first land
purchases, sent volunteers down to rip up hundreds of miles
of fencing and restore open grasslands, and supported the
fight against five dams proposed for the Baker and Pascua
rivers. Much has been accomplished, but there’s still work
to be done.
Conservación Patagónica plans to build more than
50 miles of new trails in the park to provide greater access
to its amazing places. We’re helping them raise the funds,
matching every dollar mile for mile until the donation
program ends Dec. 31, 2015.

Donate to Conservación Patagónica
to help build 50 miles of trail. Patagonia
will match your donation, mile for mile.
patagonia.com/mileformile

Protect Punta de Lobos Por Siempre
Chile’s Punta de Lobos, one of the world’s best left points
for surfing, is home to Patagonia surf ambassador Ramón
Navarro. Members of his community, led by Ramón and
supported by our partners at Save The Waves, have been
working to protect the point’s waves, heritage and environ­
ment. Preserving the way of life of multigenerational
fishing families like the Navarros goes hand in hand with
safeguarding the rich marine and terrestrial biodiversity
of Chile’s coast.
We support their efforts to protect Punta de Lobos
forever—por siempre! In April 2015, we launched a new
Chris Malloy film, The Fisherman’s Son, which tells Ramón’s
life story of surfing and activism. Building on the film, we’ve
supported a crowd-sourced fundraising campaign led by
Save The Waves that leverages our marketing channels
to protect Ramón’s home break and coastline. We’re matching
the first $100,000 until the donations program ends Oct. 31,
2015. Monies go directly toward developing a World Surfing
Reserve at Punta de Lobos, protecting the area’s traditional
fishing culture and marine biodiversity, and creating a foundation to protect this iconic point.

Donate to help protect Punta de Lobos—
por siempre—and Patagonia will
match the first $100,000.
patagonia.com/puntadelobos

If you’re a climber, chances are you’ve dreamt of climbing
here or, better yet, you actually have. It’s a region in southeastern Utah that includes some of the most perfect (and
the most crumbly) climbing on earth: Cedar Mesa, Valley
of the Gods, the Abajo Mountains and, dear to climbers,
Indian Creek. As threats to these public lands mount, residents—climbers among them—are joining forces to protect
the area they call the Bears Ears region.
We’re supporting a coalition of groups, led by the Friends
of Cedar Mesa and Utah Diné Bikéyah, in protecting Bears
Ears. Through grants, a film and a major petition push, we’re
encouraging our audience to ask Congress and President
Obama to designate Bears Ears as a national conservation

Sign the petition to protect Bears Ears,
up to 2 million acres of threatened
landscape in southeastern Utah.
patagonia.com/bearsears

LEFT Big-wave surfer/activist Ramón Navarro has rallied his community and others around the world to
protect his home and home break at Punta de Lobos.
Pichilemu, Chile. top photo: Jeff Johnson; bottom
photo: Juan Luis De Heeckeren

area or National Monument.

RIGHT Josh Ewing and other members of the Bears
Ears Coalition are trying to gain federal protection for
Bears Ears, America’s most significant unprotected
cultural landscape. top photo: Andrew Burr; bottom
photo: Mikey Schaefer

13

2015

Defined by the Line

Worn Wear Tour Results

6

weeks

11
states

21
stops

5,505
miles

11,075
participants

2,085
repairs

14

environmental + social initiatives

Our Worn Wear repair team travelled the U.S.
fixing clothes, collecting stories and working
to change peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationships with their
stuff. photo: Donnie Hedden

2015

Worn Wear
Hits the Road
We all have our favorite “Patagonia,”
and as we journey through life in these
puffies and fluffies, they accumulate
character and meaning—over time
becoming greater than the sum of their
threads. Their continued use brings us
happiness and our planet good health.
To perpetuate the long and storied
lives of Patagonia clothing and gear,
we launched our Worn Wear repair
tour from San Francisco in April 2015
on a 21-stop, six-week adventure.
A pair of biodiesel repair trucks—one
built by artist/surfer Jay Nelson using
redwood reclaimed from giant wine
barrels—began the trip from California
to Boston doing free clothing repairs,
teaching people how to fix their gear
brushing up on their repair skills over

the footprint of Patagonia products

the last year. Today our North American

and encourage consumers to change

our customers to bring us their well-

stores are equipped to handle select

their relationship with not only our

loved clothing in need of a fix. And

repairs and their ability continues

stuff, but ultimately, all stuff. Worn

if they didn’t have any Patagonia

to grow in certain locations, such as

Wear promotes investing in quality,

clothing, we offered them our used

Vancouver, B.C., and SoHo NYC, where

repairing things when they break,

gear for sale. Or participants could

we have in-store repair centers.

passing along things that are no longer

and selling used Patagonia clothing.
In advance of tour stops, we asked

make use of our tools, supplies and

If you’re unfamiliar with Worn Wear,

being used, recycling worn out goods,

expertise to fix a broken item we pro-

it began as a blog through which cus-

and celebrating the clothing that trav-

vided from our do-it-yourself selection,

tomers could share their stories about

els through life with us. Learn more and

which was then theirs to keep for free.

our clothing—the stories we wear.

watch a video of the Worn Wear repair

It has since evolved into an environ-

tour at patagonia.com/wornwear.

Repair techs from Patagonia’s Reno
Repair Department joined the tour,

mental program conceived to reduce

leaving their jobs at the largest used
garment-repair facility in the U.S.—one
that completes about 30,000 repairs
per year. We stopped at campgrounds,
music festivals, breweries and our own

By keeping our clothing in use just nine additional
months, we can reduce the related carbon, waste
and water footprint an estimated 20 to 30 percent.

stores, where employees had been

15

16

environmental + social initiatives

2015

Sharing Worn Wear Through Yerdle
To further the aims of our Worn Wear program,
on Black Friday 2014 we announced a strategic
investment from our $20 Million & Change fund
(see page 40) in Yerdle. Yerdle is an innovative
company that provides a simple way for people
to put goods back into circulation and use what
currently exists—capturing the value of what
they already own to save money and the planet.
On the Yerdle app, you give away any and all
items to earn Yerdle credits. Then you can use
those credits to acquire things given away by
other “Yerdlers” all over the country. According
to Yerdle, 80 percent of the items in our homes
are used less than once a month, and by sharing
these items Yerdlers saved $3.5 million last year.

The Worn Wear tour stopped at campgrounds, music festivals,
breweries and Patagonia stores, where employees had been
brushing up on their repair skills. photo: Donnie Hedden

17

18

environmental + social initiatives

Fair Trade is one of several initiatives
weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re taking at Patagonia to improve the
lives of people who make our products.
photo: Courtesy of Pratibha

2015

Closer to a Living Wage
We grow our offering of Fair Trade Certified™
clothing styles from 33 to 192

We grew our offering of Fair Trade

Dialogue is another important

job of taking care of their workers,

Certified™ products this year from 33

aspect of Fair Trade. At Pratibha this

in spring 2015 to 192 in fall. They’re

year, factory management learned

sewn by workers at Pratibha Syntex

from Fair Trade committee members

questions and concerns. Factory man-

in India, which was our first Fair Trade

that employees were considering

agers want to know how workers will

partner factory, and at four newly

spending some of their Fair Trade

react, what it will cost and how it will

certified factories in Sri Lanka and

premium to build a cooking facility.

affect production. Thuy acknowledges

one in Los Angeles, California.

Upon learning this was a need for their

these are real concerns. But she’s con-

workforce, management paid for a new

fident the benefits of improving worker

gram, last year the people who made

kitchen themselves. The workers were

morale, encouraging the retention

Patagonia products at Pratibha earned

delighted and now have the opportunity

of employees and improving produc-

an additional $76,000 just from us.

to cook their favorite meals in a safe

tivity will win the day.

(That’s equivalent to nine days’ wages

and modern space.

Thanks to the Fair Trade pro-

for each worker.) They used the money

“I don’t think the factory realized

it does require commitment and trust.
As with any new program, there are

After two years as a Fair Trade
Certified factory, Pratibha is still

to buy raincoats for the monsoon

this was an actual need until they had

enthusiastic about the program, as

season and are exploring some other

that conversation with their workers,”

evidenced by this message from Vijay

projects to spend the rest of the funds

said Patagonia’s Thuy Nguyen, manager

Kumar Mennon, head compliance

on this year.

of social and environmental respon-

management representative.

For every Fair Trade Certified item

sibility who works on the Fair Trade

“We wish to place on record our

we buy, Patagonia pays a premium.

program. “Dialogue is a huge part

profound and heartfelt thanks to the

The money goes into an account

of Fair Trade.”

Fair Trade officials and Patagonia team

Our social and environmental

members for their inspiring efforts,

designated for social, economic and

responsibility team isn’t stopping

which will bring smiles on the faces

environmental development projects,

at 192 products. They’re now working

of the associates who are looking for

but can also be taken as a cash bonus,

with factories in Thailand, Vietnam,

better work conditions and to promote

which can get workers closer to a living

Colombia and Mexico, hoping soon

sustainability as well as higher social and

wage. The living wage is calculated

to also enroll them in the Fair Trade

environmental standards,” he wrote.

as part of the Fair Trade certification

program to help more workers who

process, and it is our first step to

make our clothing earn closer to a living

Trade Certified products, the program

address low wages in the supply chain.

the workers control. The funds are

As one of 800 brands that offer Fair

wage. It can take some convincing.

has proved highly successful for us at

Fair Trade is one of several initiatives

Though Fair Trade certification is not

Patagonia. We look forward to offering

we’re taking at Patagonia to improve the

an arduous process for modern, well-

even more Fair Trade items for the

lives of people who make our products.

run factories that already do a good

benefit of more workers.

The program’s market-based approach
ensures workers not only receive fair
compensation for their labor, but also
helps to create better working conditions and safeguards against the use
of child labor.

Dialogue is a huge
part of Fair Trade.
19

Damnation
Film and campaign go global, educating
and activating audiences to take down
deadbeat dams

nonprofits had shown it, encouraging viewers to sign our
petition for the removal of four deadbeat dams on the lower
Snake River in Washington state.
As a result of these successes, and other efforts worldwide, we’ve seen increasing momentum in the movement
to take down dams. David Montgomery, professor of earth
and space sciences at the University of Washington, notes
in DamNation, “… a couple of decades ago, it was radical
[to think] you could take a dam out … Go back 50 years,
it was legitimately crazy-talk.” That’s changing. With large
dam removals on the Elwha and White Salmon rivers in
Washington and the Penobscot River in Maine, all featured
in the film, the public is warming to the idea that many deadbeat dams have outlived their usefulness. And it’s not only
happening in the U.S.
We’ve been fighting to remove dams and restore rivers for

In Chile, the Committee of Ministers overturned plans

more than 30 years at Patagonia, but making a full-length

in June 2014 for five dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers.

feature film and campaign aimed at global audiences

We supported the grassroots campaign that saw Chileans

marked a new level of commitment.

taking to the streets to stop this mega-dam project.

Since its release in March 2014, our film DamNation

Japan’s largest dam removal is underway on the Kuma

and our Crackdown on Deadbeat Dams campaign that

River. DamNation was screened in 11 cities in Japan, and our

accompanied it have done much to educate and activate

team made a stop at the Arase Dam site to call for removal

audiences around the world.

of the next dam upstream: the Setoishi Dam.

As of May 2015, DamNation had screened publicly more

In Finland, dambuster/actor/Patagonia ambassador

than 380 times in 30 countries and won 19 major awards at

Jasper Pääkkönen is raising public awareness about

film festivals around the world. More than 100 environmental

Helsinki’s dammed Old Town rapids and the sea-run brown

20

environmental + social initiatives

Filmmakers answered questions after
a screening of DamNation, attended by
Congressional and agency staff members, at the Capitol Hill Congressional
Auditorium in D.C. photo: Erin Feinblatt

DamNation producer Matt Stoecker (left)
and actor/activist Jasper Pääkkönen
found widespread support for taking out
this and other obsolete dams in Finland.
photo: Juha-Matti Hakala

21

trout and Atlantic salmon blocked by an unnecessary dam. That, along with a visit
and speech in the Finnish parliament by DamNation producer Matt Stoecker, has
resulted in widespread support for taking out this and other dams in Finland.
Our goal with DamNation has always been to inspire action. Our Crackdown
on Deadbeat Dams petition gathered more than 75,000 signatures. In partnership with the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, we met with nearly every member
of Congress from the Pacific Northwest, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell,
and members of the Obama administration to advocate for removal of four
particularly harmful dams on the lower Snake River. Our last visit to Washington,
D.C., in January 2015, included a screening of DamNation on Capitol Hill for an
audience of Congressional members and staffers, and a formal delivery of our
petition to the staff at the White Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Council on Environmental Quality. Highcost/low-value dams like those on the lower Snake River hold back salmon, the
economy, plans for cleaner energy, opportunities for recreation, not to mention
a free-flowing river and intact ecosystem that can respond to threats like climate
change. See the film, learn more and take action at damnationfilm.com.

22

environmental + social initiatives

Removing four dams on the lower Snake
River provides the best hope of restoring
runs of wild fish to this Idaho wilderness
ecosystem. photo: Matt Stoecker

2015

The Unacceptably
High Cost of Labor
A deeper dive into our supply chain leads
to a new migrant worker standard
Hoping to inspire further-reaching

Imagine paying $7,000 to get a job.

changes—and to help alert others

That’s what some labor brokers charge

to both the problem and the need

change (and continue to educate our-

migrant workers in Asian countries to

for change.

selves), staff from Patagonia’s social and

place them in factory work in Taiwan,

We set out to develop a new stan-

environmental responsibility depart-

where many factory jobs go wanting

dard, institute changes in our supply

ment also met with Taiwan’s Ministry of

these days. The practice is considered

chain, repay current workers and share

Labor Workforce Development Agency.

an acceptable part of doing business,

our recommended standards with other

We had a productive dialogue about

though brokers regularly charge above

companies that want to eradicate similar

ways to improve the system for all

legal limits. Transportation, work visas

practices by their suppliers.

companies in Taiwan. As a result, rep-

and other essentials are included. But

Working with Verité, we developed

resentatives from the agency provided

paying that kind of money for a factory

a comprehensive migrant worker

training to our suppliers on the practice

job is an almost impossible burden for

standard for our factories that covered

of direct hiring.

workers already struggling to make

every aspect of employment, including

a living.

pre-hiring interactions, labor contracts,

trafficking is not confined to the island

wages and fees, retention of passports,

of Taiwan, we have applied our migrant

tude that could also qualify, less politely,

living and working conditions, griev-

worker standard to our entire supply

as modern-day slavery. And it’s been

ance procedures and repatriation.

chain. We’ve also made the standard

It creates a form of indentured servi-

happening in our own supply chain.
Patagonia buys fabrics and other

Then, in December 2014, we hosted
a forum for our Taiwanese suppliers to

And, because this form of human

publicly available to any company that
would like to adopt it.
In January, we received a call from

materials from factories in Taiwan that

explain the new standard that, among

rely on labor brokers. We’re proud of

many things, requires them to stop

the White House, inviting Patagonia’s

the high standards to which we hold our

charging fees to foreign workers hired

Chief Operating Officer Doug

factories, but we just didn’t know these

on or after June 1, 2015. They can either

Freeman and Director of Social and

issues existed until our social responsi-

pay the fees themselves or hire workers

Environmental Responsibility Cara

bility audits in 2011 revealed some red

directly without the use of labor brokers.

Chacon to present our work at the White

flags. Partnering with Verité—an NGO

We also mandated that they repay

House Forum on Combating Human

dedicated to ensuring people around

currently employed workers, who

Trafficking in Supply Chains led by

the world work under safe, fair and legal

were hired before June 1, all fees that

Secretary of State John Kerry. We, along

conditions—we conducted in-depth

exceeded the legal amount.

with leaders from Walmart, HP and SAP

migrant worker assessments with four
of our suppliers in Taiwan.
The results startled us. We learned

Our factory partners listened with
interest and asked many questions.
They understand our values and our

Cloud, were asked to discuss our work
and best practices on the issue.
“We were honored to have the

that it can take a worker as many as

belief in the cost of doing business

opportunity to share our plan and prog-

two years to repay a labor broker, and

responsibly. We are committed to part-

ress,” Cara said. “Though the work is

that most labor contracts last only

nering with them to eliminate human

challenging, it’s not impossible. For the

three years before the worker has to

rights issues in our supply chain, and

sake of workers, we hope other compa-

return home and the process (and

we were very pleased to see their strong

nies will recognize that and move ahead

fees) begin again. It became clear to

overall commitment to doing right

with their own efforts.”

us that we needed to make significant

by their workers.

23

C e l e b r a t i n g S u cc e ss

Bristol Bay
The President took action in December 2014 to protect one
of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest natural treasures by signing a presidential memorandum to protect Bristol Bay from offshore drilling.
With the offshore resources protected, attention will now return
to an ongoing battle over a massive open-pit mining project
proposed in the bayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s watershed. If allowed to proceed,
the Pebble Mine would be the largest copper and gold mine
in North America.

Six years ago we asked Walmart to

more than 300 brands. Together SAC

now in development. Once protocols

partner with us to create a group of

members produce about 40 percent

are in place to verify the accuracy

companies making or selling apparel

of the entire global output of apparel,

of the data going into these tools, all

to standardize the way we all mea-

footwear and home textiles.

the necessary groundwork will be in

sured sustainability. We reasoned that

In 2013, the SAC released the 2.0

place for someday making the Higg

by developing a tool to measure our

version of its footprint measurement

environmental impacts, we could really

tool, called the Higg Index®. Make that

drive the change we hoped to see:

tools, because the Higg is actually a

the SAC is close to completing its goal

As the old saw goes, you can’t manage

suite of four tools for different uses.

of being able to measure the impacts

what you can’t measure. At the time,

One measures the environmental

of manufacturing. The big question

we had been helping Walmart—at its

impacts of finished-goods factories,

now is whether those measurements

request—introduce organically grown

mills and dye houses, and a second

will improve over time; in other words,

cotton into its apparel. We were

one measures their social and labor

if the impacts will decrease. The jury

pleased when they accepted our invi-

impacts. A third tool measures the envi-

is out, but based on the enthusiasm

tation to work together and used their

ronmental impacts of SAC companies

with which SAC members are imple-

influence to enlist other companies.

themselves, and a fourth looks at their

menting the Higg, we think chances are

social and labor impacts. Yet another

good this effort will drive the change

Sustainable Apparel Coalition—the

tool to help product designers make

we all want to see. If the textile industry

SAC—and we met for the first time in

more sustainable choices—and score

started the industrial revolution, maybe

2010. Today the coalition is the largest

those choices—will be finished this year.

it can also be the industry that leads

apparel trade organization in the world,

And a sixth to measure the environ-

it into the sustainability revolution.

with over 160 members representing

mental impacts of finished products is

Learn more at apparelcoalition.org.

We called ourselves the

customer-facing.
With the Higg up and running,

Wild & Scenic Film Festival
events inform and inspire solutions

in their communities. The films are an

to restore the earth, creating a positive

inspiring way for tour hosts to promote

future for the next generation. Each

awareness of global and local issues,

year, nearly 30,000 festivalgoers

raise funds, grow membership and

are exposed to films about nature,

increase momentum for the environ-

activism, adventure, conservation,

mental movement. With the common

water, climate change, wildlife,

vision of igniting change, people from

agriculture and indigenous cultures.

all walks of life gather to celebrate

The South Yuba River Citizens League

our beautiful planet and take action.

produces the festival in January, fea-

With Patagonia’s financial support,

turing films, workshops, art, music and

Wild & Scenic On Tour generated more

more. The four-day event in Nevada

than $200,000 in new funding and

Considered one of the nation’s pre-

City, California, kicks off Wild & Scenic

3,000 new members for hosting orga-

miere environmental and adventure

On Tour, which traverses the globe to

nizations this year. Learn more

film festivals, the Wild & Scenic Film

more than 150 cities. Local environ-

at wildandscenicfilmfestival.org.

Festival combines stellar filmmaking

mental nonprofits, colleges, museums

with a call to action. Wild & Scenic

and other groups host On Tour events

Salmon-rich Bristol Bay was spared
from oil and gas drilling, but the threat of
Pebble Mine, which would be dug here,
still looms large. photo: Corey Arnold

LEFT

ABoVE With Patagonia’s financial support,
Wild & Scenic On Tour garnered more than
$200K and 3,000 new members for environmental groups. photo: Josh Miller

25

2015

Sustainable apparel Coalition

26

environmental + social initiatives

2015

For birds of a Feather
NSF International adopts our Traceable down Standard

a similar path forward. So last year we

industry and to our customers: to turn

asked NSF International to adopt our

our internal down verification program

Traceable Down Standard as the basis

into a global independent certification

for a global standard—one that is both

and provide not only the highest level

achievable and scalable.

of animal welfare, but also the highest

NSF is an independent public
health organization that works with
manufacturers, regulators and con-

level of transparency into down traceability and animal welfare.
Because we recently added new

sumers to develop standards and

farms, slaughterhouses and processing

certifications that help to protect

facilities to our down supply chain, we

food, water, consumer products and

are re-auditing it to achieve certifica-

the environment. We chose to partner

tion by fall 2015 and to offer certified

with it because its methods and certi-

products by fall 2016. In the meantime,

fications are beyond reproach.

our third-party verified 100% Traceable

Recognizing that not every entity

Down products continue to offer the

Down is warm and fluffy. But the treat-

in the down industry would be willing

highest level of assurance for animal

ment of down-bearing birds often is

or able to do everything we’ve done

welfare in the apparel industry.

not. In some countries it’s still legal to

to assure animal welfare, NSF adopted

force-feed them to fatten their livers

our standard as its “highest tier.” It

process, you’ll be able to see our down

to make foie gras. And in some it’s still

then partnered with down processors,

supply chain on the NSF website and on

legal to live-pluck them to yield more

manufacturers, retailers, animal wel-

Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles.

down. Inhumane as these practices are,

fare groups, trade associations and

they still go on.

other nongovernmental organizations

strength of our efforts, Four Paws—the

Once NSF completes its certification

As further testimony to the

to develop a multitiered standard

animal welfare organization that once

take to ensure down-bearing birds are

that permitted stakeholders various

campaigned against our company for

not mistreated. We’ve worked hard

degrees of implementation. All of them

buying down taken from mistreated

on this issue and after seven years

had a say—defining, refining and agree-

birds—recently released their eval-

have developed and implemented a

ing to final criteria.

uation of companies in the outdoor

There are steps companies can

thorough animal-welfare program for

After months of working with

industry that used down. They rated

our down supply chain. As of fall 2014,

stakeholders, in January 2015 NSF

Patagonia second in terms of best

all Patagonia down products contain

launched its NSF Global Traceable

animal welfare practices. We are con-

only 100% Traceable Down that can be

Down Standard designed for use by any

tinuing our work and hope to be rated

traced back to birds that were never

company. The new certification covers

number one by fall 2016. Learn more

force-fed and never live-plucked. It’s

down supply chains, starting at the

at patagonia.com/traceabledown.

the highest assurance of animal welfare

parent farm and household collector

and traceability in the apparel industry.

farms, along with down products at the

In the interest of animal welfare
beyond our down supply chain, we
want to provide other companies with

factory level.
This milestone marks the completion of one of our commitments to the

27

Vote the
Environment
2014
Patagonia supports candidates who push hard for renewable energy, clean water
and air, and turn away from risky, carbon-intensive fuels. We support leaders who
will act on behalf of the future and the planet.
We face a great crisis: climate change, extinction and destruction of wild
places. And many people worked hard to bring out the vote in the midterm
elections. Many voted with the environment on their minds and in their hearts.
You are not alone!
According to a 2013 poll by Stanford University, 73 percent of Americans
believe that the earth has been warming over the past 100 years, while 81 percent
of Americans think global warming poses a serious problem in the United States.
In addition, 81 percent think the federal government should limit the amount of
greenhouse gases that American businesses can emit.
For the November 2014 midterm election, Patagonia joined with the Creative
Action Network (CAN) and The Canary Project to amplify Patagoniaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Vote the
Environment message using crowd-sourced art. CAN and Canary run campaigns
around causes, inviting artists to create original, meaningful designs in an effort
to reach new voters.
Canary received 375 original pieces of artwork (and counting) from people all
over the country. We printed three fundraising T-shirts, which we sold to our customers. Canary printed posters with the other designs, which also were sold. Forty
percent of the proceeds went directly to the artists, and 30 percent to HeadCount,
a nonpartisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters and
promote participation in democracy.

28

environmental + social initiatives

Artist/designer Eric Junker produced
one of the 375 pieces of original artwork
we received to help turn out the vote in the
midterm election. Some others are on
the opposing page. photo: Georgia Junker

social and environmental problems, commended us for our
environmental grants program and campaigns, supply chain
monitoring and performance, and our employee culture.
It also identified areas for improvement, including developing
local purchasing policies, procedures for the use of product
life-cycle assessment, and collecting environmental and
supply chain metrics. We’re working on those.
Below are Patagonia “Company Highlights,” verified
by B Lab in September 2014. They can also be found at
bcorporation.net/patagonia, along with full results from
our 2014 B Impact Report.
Governance: Board includes independent members
to represent interests of community and environment;
works within industry to develop social and environmental
standards; shares financials with employees.
It’s not easy being part of a community that’s using the power

Workers: Extends health benefits to part-time, retail,

of the private sector to create public benefit. You have to meet

warehouse staff; 50 percent of full-time employees participate

rigorous standards of social and environmental performance,

in external professional development; greater than 80 percent

accountability and transparency. But as one of more than

coverage of health insurance premiums for full-time workers.

1,200 Certified B Corps from 38 countries and over 121 indus-

Community: One hundred percent of significant suppliers

tries that have incorporated legally defined goals to make a

made transparent on website; greater than 40 percent of

positive impact on society and the environment, we like the

management are women or ethnic minorities; greater than

community, we like the challenge and we’re getting better.

25 percent of employees took time off for community service;

In September 2014 we completed the required B Impact
Assessment and a one-day audit of our Ventura head-

1 percent of sales donated to environmental NGOs.
Environment: 75 percent of materials used are environ-

quarters to measure our progress since becoming a B Corp

mentally preferred (organic, recycled, etc.); 30 percent

in December 2011. We’re pleased to report that our score

of suppliers meet bluesign® standards for environmentally

rose from 107 to 116. (The minimum score for B Corp

advanced apparel manufacturing; some facilities LEED

certification is 80 out of a possible 200.)

Certified; greater than 5 percent of energy use is generated

B Lab, the nonprofit that certifies B Corps and serves the

on-site. Learn more at bcorporation.net.

global movement of entrepreneurs using business to solve

30

environmental + social initiatives

A September 2014 audit at our headquarters in Ventura, California, showed
our continued progress as a B Corp.
photo: Kyle Sparks

Homegrown
Wetsuits

It’s funny what you find when you start unpacking the excess baggage of history.
You discover things like the guayule bush, a relatively nondescript shrub from the
southwestern United States and Mexico that thrives without much water, grows
without insecticides and was the basis for roughly one-quarter of all the rubber
products in the United States in the early parts of the 20th century.
During World War II, the U.S. government was growing over 32,000 acres
of guayule in Southern California alone. It was also around this time that a stylish
surfer from the working class suburbs of northern San Diego County by the name
of Phil Edwards—the man who pioneered Pipeline—was nicknamed the “Guayule
Kid,” a moniker born in the fact that he frequented a certain Carlsbad surf spot that
was flanked by a massive guayule field.
After the war ended, President Truman ordered the shutdown of all guayule

Historically we had

production facilities, torched some 21 million pounds of surplus rubber, and offi-

to drill for wetsuits,

a century and the guayule plant is making a comeback.

now we’re growing them

cially classified all documents related to its production. Flash forward nearly half
Our search to build a better wetsuit led us to a partnership with Yulex,
a company making plant-based rubbers derived from guayule stems. Extracted
in a water-based separation process that produces little waste, we’re now blending
natural guayule rubber (60%) into Patagonia® wetsuits to reduce our dependence
on petroleum-based neoprene.
We’ve also made this proprietary rubber available to the rest of the surf industry.
Why? Because when volumes go up, prices go down; and when more surfers can
choose less harmful wetsuits, we all win. Learn more at patagonia.com/yulex.

Sixty percent of the rubber in our Yulex® wetsuits is derived from the guayule plant, which
reduces our need for petroleum-based neoprene.
photo: David Sanchez

31

32

environmental + social initiatives

From highline to clothesline. Our
new Patagonia速 Denim jeans have
a compelling environmental and social
backstory. photo: Alexandre Buisse

2015

Because Denim
Is Filthy Business

of water and energy. Indigo doesn’t
adhere readily to denim, which makes
the dyeing, rinsing and garment
washing process resource intensive.
We once used indigo to color Patagonia
Denim, but now we utilize an innovative
dye process that colors it with sulfur
dyestuffs that bond more easily.
This results in much shorter production
lines that use 84 percent less water, 30
percent less energy and emit 25 percent
less C02 than conventional synthetic
indigo denim dyeing. And because we
don’t sandblast, bleach or stonewash
our denim to make it look worn, we
avoid the serious social and environmental downsides of doing so.
Then there’s sewing. We are part-

Knowing how conventional cotton is

dirtiest crops on the planet. The chem-

grown and denim is made, we’re out to

icals used to grow it can pollute water

nering with Fair Trade USA as one way

change the industry with the fall 2015

and air. Organic cotton agriculture uses

to help garment workers get closer to

introduction of Patagonia® Denim jeans.

no GMO seeds or synthetic chemicals;

a living wage. For each piece of Fair

Like all of our cotton products, we make

instead it leverages nature-based

Trade Certified clothing, we pay a

them with 100% organic cotton grown

solutions to manage pests and build

premium they can use to improve their

without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides

healthy soil. That’s why since 1996

communities and elevate their standard

or herbicides. We dye them using an

we’ve used only organic cotton.

of living. Fair Trade is one of the ways

To dye denim, most producers

we’re trying to better the lives of all the

reduce dramatically water, energy and

use synthetic indigo applied on huge

people who make Patagonia products.

chemical use, and produce less carbon

production lines that consume a lot

Learn more at patagonia.com/denim.

innovative process that enables us to

dioxide compared to conventional
denim dying processes. And they’re Fair
Trade Certified™ for sewing, which benefits workers.
Though the cotton used to make
denim fabric is a natural fiber, conventionally grown cotton is one of the

Made with organic cotton, Fair Trade Certified™
for sewing, and dyed using an innovative process
that uses 84 percent less water, 30 percent less energy
and emits 25 percent less CO2 than conventional
synthetic indigo denim dyeing.

33

Truth to

In fall 2014, we produced a collection of clothing we called
Truth to Materials. It was an exercise in discovering the origin
of a material and staying as true to that as possible during

Materials

every step of the design and manufacturing process. The
clothes in this collection represented a deeper dive into the
progress we’ve already made with materials like organic
cotton and recycled polyester, but with less dying and pro-

Responsible manufacturing

cessing, fewer virgin resources and an even greater focus

begins at the source

fibers and going beyond organic by reusing materials that

on craftsmanship. We explored minimally processed animal
might otherwise be destined for the dump. We were trying
to make each garment a little bit better and a little bit more
sustainable for both the planet and our customers. We call
this work “responsible manufacturing.”
Reclaimed Down
Patagonia partnered with designer and artisan Natalie Chanin,
of Alabama Chanin, on a one-of-a-kind reclaimed down
project. Faced with bales of damaged, returned down jackets
(that could not be repaired) stacked in Patagonia’s shipping
warehouse, Jill Dumain, from Patagonia Enviro, connected
with Natalie and her colleague Olivia Sherif, and they came up
with a warm and wearable work of art masquerading as a scarf.

34

environmental + social initiatives

A Mongolian herder harvests undyed cashmere from goats now being grazed in a more
environmentally responsible manner.
photo: Tuul

Reclaimed Cotton

Undyed Cashmere

Thanks to a partnership with the TAL Group, one of the

Mongolia contains the largest intact grassland in the world.

larger garment manufacturers in the world, we were able

It remains that way because of Mongolian herders, who have

to take cotton waste and twist it closer to the elusive closed

long known that the key to keeping their grasslands healthy

loop. The TAL Group saves their cotton scraps by sweeping

is moving their herds and maintaining a proper ratio of goats

the floors of their factories in China and Malaysiaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;saving

to sheep. Goats pull up grass by the roots, sheep do not.

hundreds of tons of cotton from the landfill. This once

Undyed cashmere is hand-harvested by goat herders who

useless cutting-room scrap is then spun and knit into fully

brush their flocks as they shift grazing grounds according

functional fabrics. Basically, the leftovers or cutting-room

to the seasons. The end result is a material untouched

scraps from 16 virgin cotton shirts can be turned into one

by dyes, which lessens the environmental impact and gives

reclaimed cotton shirt.

the material an even softer hand. Patagonia is in the first
stages of a partnership with NOYA fibers, which works with

Reclaimed Wool

a herder cooperative in a million-acre reserve managed

Calamai Tech Fabrics in Italy works with everything from

by The Nature Conservancy.

cotton to nylon, blended with wool. They collect manufacturing scraps and used clothing like Italian wool sweaters

Learn more at patagonia.com/materials

and army uniforms, and then separate out by hand zippers,
buttons and anything that would damage the shredding
machines. The used fabric is sorted by color and cleaned.
Finally, Calamai blends the fibers into a variety of knits and
weaves, as well as weights and textures. Making such good
use of scrap materials requires less energy, water and chemicals to manufacture.

Natalie Chanin created warm, one-of-a-kind
scarves using down reclaimed from old
Patagonia jackets. photo: Jeff Johnson

The reclaimed wool we used in several
of our Truth to Materials products came from
old clothing collected and repurposed by
Calamai in Italy. photo: Jeff Johnson

The Hosbayar girls are daughters of Mongolian
herders who raise goats for their beautiful
cashmere. photo: Dan Ainsworth

35

36

environmental + social initiatives

Sustainably fished Alaska salmon, tsampa
soup, and organic fruit and almond bars are
now on the menu at Patagonia Provisions.
photo: Patagonia Archives

2015

Patagonia Provisions
We add two new products to our offering

This year we added two new food products to Patagonia Provisions’ offering
of sustainably fished Alaskan salmon: tsampa soup and organic fruit and
almond bars.

What we eat does
more than just fill
our stomachs and
nourish our bodies;
good food lifts our
spirits and helps us
understand the world
a little better.

The tradition and culture of food have always been important to us at Patagonia.
On our many travels, the meals—cedar-planked salmon with First Nations friends
in BC, tsampa in yak-hair tents in Tibet, asado and chimichurri with Patagonian
gauchos—become a vital part of the experience. What we eat does more than just
fill our stomachs and nourish our bodies; good food lifts our spirits and helps
us understand the world a little better.
So it only makes sense that we’d want to share some of our favorite food
with our customers. But that’s just the beginning; we also believe there is great
opportunity—and an urgent need—for positive change in the food industry. With
Patagonia Provisions, our goals are the same as with everything we do: We aim
to make the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and perhaps most
important, inspire solutions to the environmental crisis.
And nowhere is the crisis more pressing than in the food industry. Today,
modern technology, chemistry and transportation combine to put more distance
between people and their food than ever before. Salmon is harvested indiscriminately or farmed in open-water feedlots, putting wild salmon in peril. Prairies are
overgrazed, livestock is filled with antibiotics, and fossil aquifers are being drained
to water unsustainable crops. Chemicals reign supreme to maximize production,

37

and the unknown impact of genetically modified organisms hovers over the
entire industry. In short, the food chain is broken.
Patagonia Provisions is about finding solutions to repair the chain.
Tsampa soup: More than 35 years ago in the mountains of Nepal, Yvon
Chouinard’s Sherpa friends introduced him to tsampa. Chouinard soon discovered
what the people of the Himalaya have known for centuries: This simple, roastedgrain staple provides ideal fuel for high-altitude performance. In the years
since, we’ve adjusted the recipe, westernizing the flavors a bit to create a delicious, convenient soup mix that retains the amazing properties of the original
tsampa. Made with organic, roasted whole grains and vegetables, Tsampa Soup
is good, simple food we enjoy everywhere from high-altitude basecamps to sealevel dinners at home.
Organic fruit and almond bars: After years of eating hundreds of different
“energy” bars, we found they generally fell into two categories: good for you or
good tasting. We wanted both. So we started from scratch, working with our
favorite chefs and nutrition experts to develop a bar that was delicious and
nutritious. What we came up with is simple, pure food—just organic fruit, nuts,
seeds and juice—compressed into a convenient, highly portable form. No artificial
sweeteners, corn syrup, preservatives, coloring, chemical supplements, MSG
or GMO ingredients. These chunky, chewy bars provide natural energy, plus
the extra nutritional benefits of chia and baobab. Our organic fruit and almond
bars also support more sustainable agriculture, making them good food by
any measure. Learn more at patagonia.com/provisions

38

environmental + social initiatives

2015

Greater Commons
Partnering with others for the greater good
We pick our partners as we pick our friends. They teach us, challenge us and keep us honest. The nonprofits and coalitions
we partner with help us to fulfill our mission to use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
They help us set—and then meet—the rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and
transparency we set for ourselves and others in the private sector. And they keep us connected to a community that acts
for a greater good. Our partners include:

OUTDOOR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

SUSTAINABLE APPAREL COALITION

FAIR LABOR ASSOCIATION ®

OIA’s Sustainability Working Group is
made up of more than 450 companies
collaborating to identify and reduce the
environmental and social impacts of their
products. Patagonia is one of 50 voting
members. OIA works to ensure that federal
trade policy fosters and promotes a stable
and predictable environment for all outdoor industry businesses, while seeking
to lower costs for outdoor businesses and
their customers.

1% FOR THE PLANET ®
1% for the Planet ® works to build, support
and activate an alliance of businesses
financially committed to creating a healthy
planet. Since its founding in 2002 by our
owner Yvon Chouinard and Blue Ribbon
Flies’ Craig Mathews, 1% for the Planet has
grown to more than 1,200 member companies in 48 nations that have collectively
invested more than $100 million in 3,300
nonprofit organizations working toward
positive environmental change.

OTHER PARTNERS
American Sustainable Business Council
B Corp

BLUESIGN ® SYSTEM
bluesign® technologies, based in
Switzerland, audits the energy, water and
chemical use of its system partners and

Business for Innovative Climate
and Energy Policy (BICEP)
Canadian Environmental
Grantmakers Network

We created $20 Million & Change in 2013 to help likeminded, responsible companies bring about positive
benefit to the environment. To date, we’ve received
more than 650 requests for investments. We invested

& Change

last year in C02Nexus, Inc., which develops and sells
carbon dioxide-based cleaning, pre-conditioning and
reconditioning solutions for fabric and textiles. This
year we invested in the eight companies that follow.

Eight new investments from
our investment fund and holding
company for the environment

Beyond Surface Technologies (BST) Sustainable
technologies for treating textiles, based on natural substances, already exist, but often their performance is poor.
Based in Pratteln, Switzerland, BST aims to reconcile both
sustainability and performance by replacing fossil-based
raw materials or significantly reducing their share, without
compromising quality.
Bureo Bureo (the Mapuche word for “waves”) designs and
manufactures a line of skateboard decks in Chile using
discarded fishing nets, which account for more than 10 percent
of the ocean’s plastic pollution. Its fishnet collection and
recycling program, Net Positiva, provides fishermen with
environmentally sound disposal points, while Bureo receives
highly recyclable and durable raw materials.

40

environmental + social initiatives

California Cropwise This company makes liquid fertilizer

Wild Idea Buffalo Wild Idea Buffalo produces buffalo jerky

from unsold food. It collects it from grocery stores, then

for Patagonia Provisions. Raised on ranches in South Dakota,

backhauls it in the grocery stores’ trucks to its processing

its buffalo are free to roam, grass-fed and helping to restore

plant, which is located near the stores’ distribution centers.

the Great Plains prairie ecosystem. Our investment paid for

There it’s mechanically ground and digested with enzymes.

a mobile harvesting unit, tumbler and smokehouse that
we lease back to Wild Idea.

Hawaii pays three times what mainlanders pay for electricity,
using imported coal and oil to generate it. Patagonia Surf
Ambassador Kohl Christensen installs residential solar
systems for an affiliate of Kina‘ole.

Bureo makes skateboard decks from
discarded fishing nets, which represent
10 percent of the plastic pollution found
in the ocean. photo: Bureo

Free to operate the way they do in nature,
Wild Idea buffalo are helping to restore
Great Plains prairies and providing
delicious jerky. photo: Jill O’Brien

41

Upcycling

How many beers could you keep cold in your wetsuit? In its current state, probably
zero. But if at the end of its useful life you send it back to us, our upcycle partners
can turn that raggedy piece of neoprene into about 40 beer cozies.

for Another

We partner with ReFleece, Enjoy Handplanes, Green Guru Designs, Upcycle
It Now and Alabama Chanin to upcycle our worn-out products into other products. This not only keeps them out of landfills, it creates U.S.-based jobs and
minimizes the need to ship things overseas to be recycled.

Go-Round

Here’s how it works. Customers can drop off any worn-out Patagonia product
at our stores or mail them to our distribution center in Reno. If the item has a little
more life left in it, we’ll donate it to a nonprofit. If it’s worn beyond use, but has
salvageable parts and materials, our repair department will use them to fix broken
clothing. Everything else we send to our upcycle partners. Salty wetsuits become
cozies. Human jackets become dog coats. Old fleece gets another go-round
as a case for your tablet. Even our Capilene® boxers, with their beautiful prints,
reappear in handplanes used by bodysurfers. Since 2004, we’ve recycled 164,062
pounds of Patagonia products.

42

environmental + social initiatives

Hand planes for bodysurfing, covers
for tablets and clothing for critters are
some of the new incarnations for old
Patagonia products. photos: (top left
counterclockwise) John Brodie, Justin
Keena, Christina Johnson Jennifer Feller

Would you like to know where that Synchilla® Snap-T® Pullover was made and where the fabric came from? You can find it on the product page of patagonia.com, along with its price,
selection of colors and customer reviews. The same is true for every Patagonia product.
We made this important change in the interest of maximum transparency, wanting our
customers to know exactly what they’re buying and where and how it was made. Whereas
before it could be difficult to find supply chain information in The Footprint Chronicles®
section of our website, now it’s pretty much unavoidable.
“We wanted to make each product’s supply chain more transparent by putting it directly
in the path of the customer so it’s easy to learn about every supplier who touched that product,” said Patagonia’s Interactive Art Director John Goodwin. “We wanted to foster interest
and awareness this way—and hopefully influence other companies to also examine and
report on their supply chains.”
Each product page also has a link to the greater Footprint Chronicles page, which
features every factory that makes or contributes to Patagonia clothing and gear; profiles
of the social and environmental practices of key suppliers and fabric mills, with accompanying
essays, slide shows and videos; and profiles of key independent partners who vet social and
environmental practices throughout our supply chain.
In addition to textile mills and sewing factories, we’ve now also added a couple of farms
to our interactive Footprint map and hope to add more. Because commodities such as cotton
and down come from multiple sources, they can be tough to trace as they make their way
through the supply chain. The farm is often the first place a commodity is born or consolidated. By better knowing our farms, we can better know and show the agricultural origins
of the products we make. Visit any product page for footprint information at patagonia.com.

43

C e l e b r a t i n g S u cc e ss

Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge
The Obama administration finalized a sweeping new management plan in January 2015 for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
in Alaska. It proposes designating millions of acres as wilderness and therefore off-limits to most oil and gas development.
President Obama and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell unveiled
the refugeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Comprehensive Conservation Plan recommending
a wilderness designation for the coastal plain.Â

2015

Fire Safety Initiative
Snuffing out factory fires before they can start
In 2012, a fire swept through an

wanting to take an even more proactive

Examination Board in Occupational

apparel factory in Bangladesh, killing

approach—one that would encourage

Safety and Health (NEBOSH) Inter-

112 workers and focusing worldwide

and strengthen our factories’ abilities

national Certificate in Fire Safety and

attention on unsafe conditions. It wasn’t

to manage fire safety themselves—

Risk Management. It’s a real accom-

one of the factories we use to make

in 2013 we joined the Fair Labor Associ-

plishment that required several months

our products, but it exemplifies a huge

ation’s Fire Safety Initiative. It’s a global

of Fair Labor Association and NEBOSH

concern for us and other brands working

program that trains workers, factory

expert training, as well as roughly 70

to ensure the people who make our

management and other stakeholders

hours of instruction and 55 hours of

products do so in safe and healthy

to actively promote fire safety inside fac-

private study and background reading.

work environments.

tories, recognize hazards and address

Fire safety has always been part

them without being asked to do so.

That is just the beginning. Since
completing the certificate course, Eric

Since joining this initiative, we

has trained fire safety facilitators at five

social compliance program. During fac-

have invested considerable time and

of our factories in Vietnam, and we are

tory visits, our field managers routinely

resources preparing to roll it out to all

now working with the rest of our field

work hand in hand with management

of our factories. This year Eric Cheng,

managers to bring the program to all

to address fire issues and identify root

a Patagonia field manager based in

of our finished-goods factories.

causes that might lead to disaster. But

Hong Kong, received the National

of Patagonia’s code of conduct and

A Tailored Approach
New Chemical and Environmental Impacts Program addresses
supply chain waste and pollution in holistic fashion
The making of virtually any product

in our supply chain. Since then, we’ve

environmental facility audits, it

uses up valuable natural resources

also collaborated with others in the

utilizes the Higg Index, Chemicals

and may pollute the environment.

industry to further measure and man-

Management Module and bluesign

For example, a simple cotton T-shirt

age environmental impacts. Working

standards to evaluate environmental

requires water to grow the cotton;

with the Sustainable Apparel Coalition,

performance in all areas of energy use,

energy to spin the yarn, knit the fabric

we developed the Higg Index and with

greenhouse gases and air emissions,

and sew the shirt; and more water and

the Outdoor Industry Association, the

water use and emissions, solid waste,

chemicals to dye and print it. Not to

Chemicals Management Module.

chemicals management and environ-

mention all of the potential for waste

Even with those tools, we lacked
a unified program to address our

throughout the process.

mental management systems.
Following our mission to cause no

diverse supply chain. So in 2015,

unnecessary harm, we are committed

ing the environmental impacts that

we launched the Chemical and

to making products using fewer natural

came with producing our clothing by

Environmental Impacts Program

resources and to reducing waste and

adopting organic cotton and recycled

(CEIP) to provide a tailored approach

pollution. CEIP is a holistic supply chain

polyester. In 2000 we expanded our

to assessing and reducing impacts

program that will help us to do those

Back in the ’90s, we began reduc-

at each supplier facility. Following

things. Learn more about this program

nologies to minimize the use of water

the strictest global chemical safety

and challenges with durable water

and energy, and manage chemicals

regulations and incorporating on-site

repellents at patagonia.com/dwrblog.

efforts, partnering with

bluesign®

Caribou migrate through lands President
Obama would like to see protected as wilderness in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
photo: Norio Matsumoto

tech-

45

Taking Off for Good
Patagonia employees volunteer for what matters to them
This year, Patagonia employees from around the country and the globe volunteered as part of our companywide environmental internship program. Employees are allowed up to two months away from their regular
roles to work for the environmental groups of their choice while continuing to earn their paychecks and
benefits. This year, 34 individuals, 12 stores, one work group, and one department took advantage of the
program, putting in almost 10,000 volunteer hours for 43 organizations. They are as follow:

Willy Walker (Mail Order Customer
Service) takes a break from building
corrals with Conservación Patagónica in
Chile. photo: Patagonia Archives

2015

Kodai, Oka, Nao Fukushima, Go Moritake,

Internship
Volunteering with Save the Boundary Waters, video
editor Nate Ptacek tries to protect the waters he loves
Before coming to work for Patagonia in 2008, I spent summers during college as a canoe outfitter in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness—an incredible 1.2 million-acre expanse
of pristine lakes and boreal forest stretching along the Minnesota–Canadian border. It’s my
favorite place on earth. So when I heard that mining companies wanted to develop sulfide-ore
mines nearby, potentially poisoning the Boundary Waters with toxic runoff, I knew immediately
I had to take action. One problem: I now lived 2,000 miles away in California.
Thanks to our environmental internship program, I was able to overcome that problem.
Volunteering with Save the Boundary Waters, a Minnesota group that’s working to stop the
mines, in August, I joined canoe guides Amy and Dave Freeman for the first leg of Paddle to DC:
a 2,000-mile, 100-day canoeing and sailing expedition from Minnesota to Washington, D.C. The
goal was to visit communities along the route, highlighting the mining issue and collecting signatures in opposition on a floating petition—our 20’ Wenonah Minnesota III canoe.
I paddled and sailed with Amy and Dave the first 400 miles through the Boundary Waters
and Lake Superior, gathering footage for a film we could use to reach an even larger audience.
When I returned to Ventura, I edited the footage to create a 3 1/2-minute piece for the web that
garnered 50,000+ views and helped Amy and Dave raise greater awareness for the cause as
they neared the capitol.
Upon their arrival in D.C., I joined them once again for a whirlwind tour of meetings with
U.S. senators and representatives from Minnesota. We also presented our canoe petition to U.S.
Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. Always going the extra mile, Patagonia supported our work
with emails and social media, a miracle grant and a welcome event at our store in Washington,
D.C. I am so incredibly grateful to work for a company where environmental activism is not only
accepted, but actively encouraged.

48

environmental + social initiatives

Nate paddled, portaged and sailed 400 miles through
the Boundary Waters and Lake Superior shooting video
footage to help in the fight against a sulfide-ore mine
proposed for the area. photo: Nate Ptacek

2015

More Than a Job
Patagonia ambassadors take their
personal concerns public

Forrest Shearer

Dylan Tomine

For snowboarder and Patagonia Ambassador Forrest

Fighting for wild fish with words was never part of the plan

Shearer the equation is simple: “The more time I spend

for writer, fly fisherman and Patagonia ambassador Dylan

in the mountains, the more I want to protect them as places

Tomine. “I’m a reluctant conservationist. Prior to the year

I love.” He discovered this fundamental theorem through

2000, it had never occurred to me to spend one second

the physical intuition of split-boarding—using a snowboard

of my life trying to save anything.”
Unless, of course, you count saving money to chase wild

that can physically be split lengthwise, worn like cross-country
skis to move on snow under human power, then reassembled

steelhead. For that, he spent every spare second—and every

for a fixed-stance snowboard descent. “I think it comes

cent in his pocket—traveling up and down the West Coast

naturally; having an open mind and rethinking the way you

and everywhere else that steelhead live.
Dylan got the wake-up call in 2000, when his beloved

do things, having less of an impact on your surroundings.”
Concerned by both the short- and long-term conse­

March/April fishery on Puget Sound rivers near his home

quences of global climate change, Forrest uses the

in Seattle was shut down, a result of declining wild steelhead

immediately observable consequence of diminished

numbers. Having a shot at a 20-pound steelhead after work,

snowpack as a focal point for rallying the snow sports

he says, “was a luxury I took for granted.” Out of that visceral

community both at home in Salt Lake City, Utah, and around

loss arose the necessity of doing something.
A writer by trade, he now speaks out in print and in

the world. “Right now I’m supporting The POW (Protect
Our Winters) Rider’s Alliance—a community of professional

person against short-sighted hatchery programs and other

athletes committed to environmental leadership and helping

issues that prevent wild fish populations from recovering.

inspire and motivate others to make a difference.” Using

With wild steelhead in Puget Sound now at about 2 percent

sport to reach the next-generation activist is nothing new

of their historic numbers, and the negative influence of

to Forrest, who is involved with a variety of outreach efforts,

hatcheries and development continuing, Dylan sometimes

including Surfers for Cetaceans (inspired by his roots in

feels like “this lonely guy in the middle of nowhere, shouting

coastal Southern California surf and skate culture), 1% for

into the wind.” Yet he remains in the fight, because, as he

the Planet and The Wilderness Society.

says, “there’s really no other choice.”

Climate change is hurting his sport
and the mountains he loves, so snowboarder Forrest Shearer is speaking up.
photo: Andrew Miller

Author/angler Dylan Tomine says he sometimes feels like “this lonely guy in the middle of
nowhere, shouting into the wind,” on behalf
of native fish. photo: Tim Pask

49

Environmental Grants
$6.2 Million in Cash,
741 Groups, 18 Countries

In 1972, the Ventura City Council met to consider an
ambitious commercial development on the western floodplain of the Ventura River near our headquarters. A lot of
scientists got up to speak in support of the project. They
said it wouldn’t hurt the river because it was already
“dead.” Mark Capelli, who was a young graduate student
and called himself “Friends of the Ventura River,” then
gave a slide show showing all the life that was still in and
around the river: eels, birds, raccoons. He pointed out
there were still 50 steelhead showing up each year to
migrate upstream. It brought the house down, and the
project was eventually stopped.

Capelli’s success demonstrated to us the power of

the grassroots to affect positive change. Since then, we’ve
donated some $70 million in cash and in-kind services
to thousands of grassroots groups working worldwide
to take down dams, restore forests and rivers, mitigate
the effects of climate change and much more. The pages
that follow list groups that received a grant from us
between May 1, 2014 and April 15, 2015. Flip through
to find your region and interest and get involved!

50

environmental + social initiatives

Mackay Conservation Group
Mackay, Queensland

Dogwood Initiative
Victoria, British Columbia

Asociación Ambiente Sur
Río Gallegos, Argentina

Mackay Conservation Group employs
advocacy and action to protect the
environment in central Queensland.

Asociación Ambiente Sur works to raise
awareness and promote citizen involvement
in environmental issues through education
and conservation activities.

The Dogwood Initiative works to give British
Columbians decision-making power over their
land and water through leadership, research and
policy campaigns.

Market Forces
Collingwood, Victoria

Center for Human Rights
and Environment
Santa Cruz Del Lago, Argentina
The Center for Human Rights and Environment
is dedicated to building a more harmonious
relationship between people and the
environment.

Foro Ambiental Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Foro Ambiental Córdoba seeks to influence
public environmental policies by developing
technical proposals for the authorities and
working with the media to publicize these
proposals and raise environmental awareness.

Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas is dedicated to the conservation of whales and their
environment through research and education.

Taller Ecologista
Rosario, Argentina
Taller Ecologista is working to defend and
preserve the environment and promote
a sustainable society that addresses social,
political and economic problems, and
respects human rights.

Aust r a li a
Australian Marine Conservation Society
Brisbane, Queensland
AMCS works to create large marine national
parks (marine sanctuaries), make fisheries sustainable and protect and recover threatened
ocean wildlife, such as sharks, seals and whales.

Bob Brown Foundation
Hobart, Tasmania
The Bob Brown Foundation campaigns to
protect the wild and scenic beauty of Tasmania
and the ecological integrity of Australia.

Climate Council of Australia
Potts Point, New South Wales
The Climate Council of Australia provides
authoritative, expert information to the
Australian public on climate change.

Market Forces works to facilitate and conduct
campaigns that target the financial sector on
environmental issues and to redirect finance
and investment from environmentally harmful
projects to those that protect and enhance
the environment.

Ecojustice
Vancouver, British Columbia
Ecojustice provides free legal services to
Canadians at the front lines of environmental
struggles, uses the legal system to advance
environmental protection and advocates for
strong environmental laws.

North Queensland Conservation Council
Townsville, Queensland

Georgia Strait Alliance
Vancouver, British Columbia

This groups acts as a voice for the regional
environment, working to protect it from
ecologically unsustainable development
by informing and mobilizing the public and
influencing policy through advocacy, education, direct action and other legal means.

The Georgia Strait Alliance seeks to protect
and restore the at-risk natural environment
of the Strait of Georgia and its adjoining waters
and communities.

Solar Citizens
Newtown, New South Wales

Headwaters Initiative supports First Nations
communities in northern British Columbia
working on the cumulative impacts of proposed industrial development.

Solar Citizens is an independent community
organization bringing together millions of solar
owners and supporters to protect and grow
solar in Australia.

Take 3
Bateau Bay, New South Wales
Take 3 asks everyone to simply take three
pieces of rubbish with them when they leave
the beach, waterway or anywhere else.

C a n a da
Alberta
Miistakis Institute
Calgary, Alberta
The Miistakis Institute promotes healthy
communities and landscapes in the Crown
of the Continent ecosystem of Montana, British
Columbia and Alberta by studying the environment and helping make innovative research
accessible to communities and decision-makers.

British Columbia
Canadian Freshwater Alliance
Vancouver, British Columbia
The Canadian Freshwater Alliance, a project of
Tides Canada Initiatives, is committed to the
attainment of healthy waters across all of Canada.

Headwaters Initiative
Vancouver, British Columbia

OurClimate.ca –
Canadian Youth Climate Coalition
Victoria, British Columbia
This group seeks to unite youth across Canada
to tackle the climate crisis.

Peace Valley Environment Association
Fort St. John, British Columbia
The Peace Valley Environment Association
works to facilitate development of a sustainable
land-use plan for the Peace River Valley, which
includes stopping the Site C dam.

RAVEN
Victoria, British Columbia
RAVEN’s Pull Together Campaign supports
a coalition of seven First Nations in British
Columbia by raising money for legal actions
to allow them to protect their traditional lands
and waters from development related to the
proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline
and tanker project.

Sierra Club of BC Foundation
Victoria, British Columbia
Sierra Club BC seeks to protect and conserve
British Columbia’s wilderness, species and ecosystems by providing the government and First
Nations with science-based conservation viewpoints and advice.

West Coast Environmental
Law Research Foundation
Vancouver, British Columbia

photo: Adam Kobayashi

This group is dedicated to a just and sustainable society where people are empowered
to protect the environment and where environmental protection is law.

Wilderness Committee
Vancouver, British Columbia
This group works to protect Canada’s biological
diversity through strategic research and grassroots public education.
p r og r a m u pd a t e

Austr alia
As the world’s largest, lowest, flattest and driest island continent, Australia is
a relatively new market for Patagonia. But as in every place we do business, we
tithe 1 percent of sales to environmental organizations.
In this past year, having forged strong relationships with many key grassroots conservation groups, we have also tripled our environmental support
and are now working with some of the best environmentalists of our time.
They include the Bob Brown Foundation, which seeks to save the world’s oldest living temperate rainforest, and the Climate Council of Australia with Tim
Flannery, a leading climate expert.
The Great Barrier Reef is also a major focus for us, especially after the World
Heritage Committee labeled it “in danger” and recommended the Australian
government protect it. In response, we thoroughly researched the environmental threats, conducted field trips, developed solid connections with key
stakeholders and approved several grants for key conservation groups, among
them the Australian Marine Conservation Society, the Mackay Conservation
Group and the North Queensland Conservation Council.
In addition to supporting these NGOs, we wrote a letter to the Australian
Environment Minister, signed by Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario, making clear
our strong opposition to the proposed expansion of a coal terminal that would
dump toxic dredge spoils in these World Heritage Area waters—a potential
death sentence for coral and biodiversity. The letter was cosigned by over
20 other businesses.
We also continue working closely with Australia’s 50 B Corps to build
momentum and generate positive collective change for environmental issues,
and we will continue to grow the 1% for the Planet® and B Corp networks and
make more grants to help save a reef that’s not only important to Australians,
but to everyone everywhere.

Manitoba
Canadian Parks
and Wilderness Society—Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba
CPAWS Manitoba works to preserve Manitoba’s
natural landscapes by helping establish parks
and protected areas, increasing public awareness and involvement, and making sure nature
comes first in the management of parks and
wilderness areas.

Sierra Club of Canada
Foundation—Atlantic
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Sierra Club Atlantic exists to protect and preserve the natural environment through a wide
range of environmental projects.

Ontario
Canadian Parks
and Wilderness Society—Yukon
Whitehorse, Yukon
CPAWS Yukon seeks to establish and maintain
a comprehensive system of protected areas
in the Yukon and to safeguard wilderness
and wildlife throughout the north.

The Community Bicycle Network works
to make cycling the most accessible form
of transportation in Toronto.

Corporación Fiscalia del
Medio Ambiente
Santiago, Chile

Environmental Defence
Toronto, Ontario

This group seeks to influence the development
of environmental policy and legislation to protect Chile’s rich environmental heritage and
promote its peoples’ right to live in a pollutionfree environment.

Environmental Defence spearheads campaigns
that ensure a greener, healthier and more
prosperous life for all.

Costa Humboldt
Santiago, Chile

Forests Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
Forests Ontario works to increase Ontario’s
forested landscape through large-scale planting
and enhances the public’s understanding and
appreciation of its forest ecosystems.

Friends of the Rouge Watershed
Toronto, Ontario
Friends of the Rouge Watershed encourages a
community, ecosystem and watershed approach
to protection policy and planning, educates
youth and community, restores natural habitat,
and monitors the health of its watershed.

Ottawa Riverkeeper
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa Riverkeeper works to inspire action
and collaboration to protect the health of the
Ottawa River and its tributaries.

Wolf Awareness
Aisla Craig, Ontario
Wolf Awareness is dedicated to developing
positive attitudes toward predators in general,
the wolf in particular, and an appreciation
of the environment.

Costa Humboldt contributes to the development
of new knowledge and practices to protect
marine species and preserve the integrity of
Chile’s coastal ecosystems.

Ecosistemas
Santiago, Chile
Ecosistemas works to shed light on the socioenvironmental debate in Chile, participating
in citizen’s movements that work for the
development of a sustainable and
democratic society.

Maule Itata Coastkeeper
Pelluhue, Chile
The Maule Itata Coastkeeper Program works
to protect the coastal waters between the
Maule and Itata rivers in south-central Chile
through advocacy, litigation, public partici­
pation and independent scientific monitoring.

C z ech R e pu b li c
Frank Bold Society
Brno, Czech Republic
Through advocacy and public interest law
activities, the Frank Bold Society seeks to
protect the environment and promote the
rule of law and democracy.

Fr ance
Fonds d’Intervention
Eco Pastoral Groupe Ours Pyrénées
Pau, France
This group works to preserve habitat for bears
and other Pyrenean fauna, and studies, protects
and restores bear populations in the Pyrenees.

FRAPNA Loire
Saint Étienne, Rhône-Alpes

C h i le

FRAPNA Loire is working to preserve the
natural environment, restore ecosystems
to maintain biodiversity, fight pollution and
environmental degredation, and expand
education about nature and the environment.

Aisén Reserva de Vida
Coyhaique, Chile

Inf’OGM
Montreuil, Ile de France

Aisén Reserva de Vida works to protect and
showcase the outstanding environmental
and cultural qualities of the Aisén region of
Chilean Patagonia.

Inf’OGM seeks to foster and nurture the democratic debate on GMOs in a manner that’s
independent, transparent and accessible
to everyone.

Initiaterre
Annemasse, France
Initiaterre supports organic farms, both new
and long-established, to preserve agricultural
land and biodiversity.

LPO Coordination Rhône-Alpes
Lyon, France
This group brings together the knowledge
of Rhône-Alpes’ passionate naturalists
to protect biodiversity, increase awareness
and expand networks of groups working
together in the Alps.

Noé Conservation
Paris, France
Noé Conservation is dedicated to preserving
and restoring biodiversity worldwide for the wellbeing of all living creatures, especially mankind.

Germany
Bergwaldprojekt
Würzburg, Germany
Bergwaldprojekt works to protect, conserve
and care for mountain forests and cultural landscapes by promoting the interrelationships of
nature and people to contribute to the improvement of ecological and political conditions.

This group studies the natural systems of rivers
and lakes, including riverfronts and floodplains,
on behalf of wild animals and their habitat.

Re:Common works to advance environmental
and economic justice worldwide through campaigns against environmentally destructive
projects and for new public financial institutions that promote participatory management
of common goods.

Ja pa n
A SEED JAPAN
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
A SEED Japan is a youth environmental
organization that works for solutions to the
social injustices that coexist with environmental problems.

Arakawa No Shizen Wo Mamoru Kai
Ageo-shi, Saitama
This group is working to preserve biodiversity
in and along the Arakawa river.

Japan Riverkeeper Alliance
Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa
Japan Riverkeeper Alliance links activists
to fight against building new dams and other
water-resource developments that harm
the environment.

Kamigo Segami No Shizen
Wo Mamoru Kai
Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa
This organization is working to protect
the natural environment of Segamisawa
from a massive urban development plan
near Yokohama.

Kizugawa Ryuiki No Dam
Wo Kangaeru Network
Iga-shi, Mie
This group works against the construction
of dams on Kizugawa River.

Mizumiyama No Midori
To Mizu Wo Mamoru Kai
Hachijojima, Tokyo
This group works to preserve the wild natural
splendor of Hachijo Island through responsible
waste-management practices and protection
of the island’s water.

Hotaru No Furusato Segamisawa Kikin
Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken

National Council of Organic
Agriculture Promotion
Koto-ku, Tokyo

Hotaru No Furusato Segamisawa Kikin
is working to revive biodiversity by restoring
Satoyama, the area between foothills and
flat lands.

The National Council of Organic Agriculture
Promotion seeks to build sustainable
communities with healthy food by promoting organic agriculture.

Institute for Sustainable
Energy Policies
Nakano-ku, Tokyo

National Resource Damage Assessment
of Asia
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies
recommends policies on renewable energy
and energy efficiency to the Japanese government, provides guidance and advice to
munici­palities, and sponsors events that move
toward a more sustainable energy future.

Shitara Dam No Kensetsu Chushi
Wo Motomeru Kai
Toyohashi-shi, Aichi-ken
This organization seeks to stop construction
of Shitara Dam on the Toyokawa River through
land trusts, legal action and public education.

The Nagara River Study Citizen Group
Gifu-shi, Gifu
This organization works on behalf of the Nagara
River watershed, which is threatened by the
Uchigaya Dam plan and the headrace project
of Tokuyama Dam.

Tokushima Shizen Kansatsu No Kai
Tokushima-shi, Tokushima
Tokushima Shizen Kansatsu No Kai helps
to protect the Yoshinogawa River estuary area,
which is threatened by development.

Tonegawa Ryuiki Shimin Irnkai
Kodaira-shi, Tokyo
Tonegawa Ryuiki Shimin Irnkai works with
other organizations to restore the Tonegawa
River basin and reduce risks from manmade
diversions and water controls that cause it harm.

Yamba Ashita-no Kai
Maebashi-shi, Gunma-ken
Yamba Ashita-no Kai exists to increase awareness about the shortcomings of the Yamba
Dam project in the hopes of seeing it revised.

M e x i co
Kanan Kab Protección del mundo A.C.
Mérida, Yucatan
This group is working to recover, improve and
enhance the green and wooded areas around
the city of Mérida and contribute to deeper
environmental awareness by promoting the
conservation and sustainable use of urban
forest ecosystems.

S pa i n
Asociación RedMontañas
Madrid, Spain
Asociación RedMontañas seeks to promote
and enforce sound political action to protect
Spain’s mountains, conserve biodiversity
and landscapes, and maintain equitable,
sustainable well-being for those who live
in the mountains.

Grant Recipient

2015

Zero Waste Europe
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Ishikigawa Mamori Tai
Mission Ishikigawa Mamori Tai is working to stop construction of Ishiki Dam
and protect the community and its biodiversity through outreach, education
and campaigns.
Activities We established Ishikigawa Mamori Tai in 2007 to protect the natural
values of the Ishikigawa watershed and the lives of Kobaru residents, and
to show citizens there was no real need for Ishiki Dam. In September 2014, when
the governments of Nagasaki Prefecture and Sasebo City took steps to expropriate lands owned by residents, we began working to stop them using civil
disobedience and outreach to the local community and a broader audience.
Achievements In November 2014, we filled 500 seats for a screening
of DamNation to help educate citizens about the negative impacts from
dams. And in April 2015, with the aid of Patagonia Japan, we launched a oneyear advertising campaign, wrapping buses to increase awareness about the
beauty of Kobaru and the crisis faced by its 13 households, 60 people and
diverse wildlife.

GOB
Palma De Mallorca, Spain
GOB works for the improvement and conser­
vation of the environmental qualities of the
Balearic Islands, striving to achieve a state
of ecological and social sustainability.

La Sabina
Lleida, Catalonia
The Association for Safeguarding Biodiversity
and Nature, La Sabina, works to protect
biodiversity and nature throughout its region
with a focus on the care of wild birds.

Red Andaluza de Semillas
Sevilla, Spain
Red Andaluza de Semillas “Cultivando
Bio-diversidad” seeks to stop the loss of
genetic resources in farming and recover
local varieties.

S w itz e r l a n d
Mountain Wilderness Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland

photo: Ishikigawa Mamori Tai

Mountain Wilderness Switzerland works
to protect and conserve every aspect of the
mountains, particularly within Switzerland.

55

Ta i wa n
The Society of Wilderness
Taipei City, Taiwan
The Society of Wilderness is dedicated to protecting the natural and ecological environment
of Taiwan through education, habitat preser­
vation and public participation.

photo: Patagonia Japan

United Kingdom
Environmental Investigation Agency
London, England

p r og r a m u pd a t e

Japan Tools for Gr assroots
Activists Conference
Amid the growing complexity of environmental issues and political and social
situations, it’s increasingly difficult for environmental activists to effectively
tackle issues. So, to provide them with fresh perspectives and sharpen their
skills, every two years we sponsor the Tools for Grassroots Activists Conference.
This was our fourth in Japan. We organized conference programs and workshops under the theme of “Create an Ecosystem of Activism” and invited 14
of our Japan-based employees and some 40 activists who work to stop
dams, promote renewable energy or educate citizens about GMO techno­
logy. Holding the four-day training at a facility at the base of the Yatsugatake
Mountains in November, our aim was to teach participants to become more
effective activists and to learn from them.
We invited Shoko Tsuru back as our keynote speaker. She gave the keynote
address two years ago at our last Japan Tools Conference and had amazed
participants with her remarkable ability to work with a broad group of both
anti-dam and pro-dam stakeholders to realize the removal of the Arase Dam.
In her address, she spoke to the importance of knowing oneself and gathering
the threads of one’s own story as the first step toward creating a rich ecosystem of activism. She talked about the role of organizations mobilizing society
and the operational skills one needs to create an ecosystem of activism. She
also touched on how to develop an effective campaign, build people power,
convert awareness of issues into actions, get the message out, raise money,
use social media and make websites more efficient as tools to revitalize activi­
ties and to gain supporters.
In addition to the presentations and workshops, Tools participants were
given an opportunity to learn nature-interpretation skills or bone up on environmental laws and regulations. They also saw the Patagonia film DamNation and
heard from its producer, Matt Stoecker.
When all was done, we asked participants to let us know what they had
gleaned. One wrote, “Now I understand the difference between strategy and
tactics, and also between action and information, and I can imagine an effective campaign clearly.”
It was exactly the outcome we had hoped for.

56

environmental + social initiatives

The Environmental Investigation Agency’s
Cetaceans Campaign takes a precautionary
approach to cetacean conservation worldwide, with a focus on eliminating commercial
catches and reducing direct and indirect
human-induced mortalities and threats.

Friends of the Earth—England,
Wales and Northern Ireland
London, England
Friends of the Earth—England, Wales and
Northern Ireland seeks to enact change
by uniting, inspiring and empowering people
to protect and improve the environment.

Hebridean Whale
and Dolphin Trust
Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland
With a focus on cetaceans, the HWDT
is dedicated to enhancing knowledge and
understanding of Scotland’s marine environment through education, research and
working with communities to conserve local
species and habitats.

John Muir Trust
Edinburgh, Scotland
The John Muir Trust is dedicated to protecting
wild places by caring for wild landscapes,
working to restore and enhance wildlife habitats,
and encouraging community engagement
with nature.

People & Planet
Oxford, England
People & Planet is a student-led movement that
empowers young people and campaigns to
end world poverty, defend human rights and
protect the environment.

Scottish Badgers
Brechin, Scotland
Scottish Badgers promotes the study, conservation and public appreciation of badgers and
their natural habitats in Scotland.

City of Dothan
Dothan, Alabama

Lynn Canal Conservation
Haines, Alaska

Surfers Against Sewage works to protect
the United Kingdoms’s oceans, waves and
beaches through education, community
action, scientific research and volunteer
conservation campaigns.

The City of Dothan promotes conservation,
health and fitness, and social equity through
leisure pursuits.

Lynn Canal Conservation promotes integrity
of wild lands, protects quality of life and fosters
environmental awareness in the Chilkat and
Chilkoot watersheds and coastal areas of the
upper Lynn Canal.

Thames21
London, England

Coosa Riverkeeper exists to protect and restore
the Coosa and its tributaries by patrolling its
waters, monitoring polluters, educating the
public and advocating on behalf of the river.

Thames21 is a voice for London’s waterways,
working with communities to improve the
capital’s neglected rivers and canals for both
people and wildlife.

Trees for Life
Forres, Scotland
Trees for Life is working to restore the
Caledonian Forest of the Scottish Highlands
by engaging volunteers from diverse
backgrounds in practical education and
conservation work.

Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Chippenham, England
WDC is dedicated to the conservation and
protection of whales and dolphins, defending
these animals against the many threats they
face through conservation campaigns, advising
governments, and research and rescue.

Black Warrior Riverkeeper
Birmingham, Alabama
Black Warrior Riverkeeper uses a watershed
approach to protect and restore Alabama’s
Black Warrior River and its tributaries, with
a goal of improving water quality, habitat,
recreation and public health.

Cahaba River Society
Birmingham, Alabama
The CRS works to restore and protect central
Alabama’s Cahaba River watershed and its
rich diversity of life, including safeguarding
the quality and supply of Birmingham’s
drinking water.

Cahaba Riverkeeper
Birmingham, Alabama
Cahaba Riverkeeper works to ensure the
ecological integrity of the Cahaba watershed
and to defend clean water, a healthy aquatic
environment, and the recreational and aesthetic values of the river and its tributaries.

Coosa Riverkeeper
Birmingham, Alabama

Fresh Air Family
Birmingham, Alabama
Fresh Air Family teaches that every living thing
deserves respect by connecting youth to
nature, building families and future leaders,
and increasing pride in our natural wealth.

Southern Environmental Center
Birmingham, Alabama
The Southern Environmental Center exists to
provide comprehensive education, guidance
and services in support of urban sustainability
throughout the region.

Tennessee Riverkeeper
Decatur, Alabama
Tennessee Riverkeeper stands as a watchdog
over the Tennessee River and its tributaries by
enforcing environmental laws and educating
the public.

Alaska
Alaska Marine Conservation Council
Anchorage, Alaska
The Alaska Marine Conservation Council
promotes the integrity of Alaska’s marine ecosystems and the health of ocean-dependent
coastal communities through sustainable fishing,
habitat protection and local stewardship.

Alaskans First Campaign
Anchorage, Alaska
With a focus on the environmental impacts
of coal mining, Alaskans First Campaign
is a coalition of concerned groups standing up
for Alaskans and the resources they depend on.

Cook Inletkeeper
Homer, Alaska
Cook Inletkeeper works to protect Alaska’s
Cook Inlet watershed and the life it sustains
through advocacy, monitoring and education.

Eyak Preservation Council
Cordova, Alaska
The Eyak Preservation Council preserves,
restores and celebrates wild salmon culture and
habitat through education and the promotion
of sustainable livelihoods within the Copper
River and Prince William Sound watersheds.

Gwich’in Steering Committee
Fairbanks, Alaska
This group works to preserve the ecosystem
of the Porcupine Caribou Herd to ensure its
long-term viability and the survival of the
Gwich’in way of life.

Renewable Resources Foundation
Anchorage, Alaska
The Renewable Resources Foundation fights
to protect Alaska’s fishing and hunting
resources and the lands and waters that its
wildlife needs to survive.

Sitka Conservation Society
Sitka, Alaska
The Sitka Conservation Society works to
protect the natural environment of the
Tongass National Forest and supports the
development of sustainable communities
in southeast Alaska.

Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
Juneau, Alaska
The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
is devoted to promoting conservation, advocating for sustainability and protecting the
special places of the Tongass National Forest.

Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition
Haines, Alaska
The Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition
is an alliance of community organizations
working for informed management of the
region’s watersheds.

Susitna River Coalition
Talkeetna, Alaska
This group supports a free-flowing Susitna
River through collaboration, advocacy
and promoting awareness of sustainable
energy alternatives to the proposed
Susitna mega-dam.

Trustees for Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Trustees for Alaska works to protect and
sustain Alaska’s natural environment by
providing legal counsel to conservation
groups, community groups, Native villages
and individual Alaskans.

Yukon River Drainage
Fisheries Association
Anchorage, Alaska
This group of subsistence and com­mercial
fishers is dedicated to sustaining the
world’s furthest-migrating salmon run
and protecting healthy wild fisheries
on the Yukon River.

57

2015

Surfers Against Sewage
St Agnes, England

Arizona
Arizona Mining Reform Coalition
Tucson, Arizona
This coalition works to ensure that the mining
industry cleans up after itself, complies fully
with the spirit of safeguards in place to protect
Arizona and interacts in a transparent manner
with Arizona citizens.

Friends of Sabino Canyon
Tucson, Arizona
Friends of Sabino Canyon works to protect,
preserve and enhance Sabino Canyon by
funding and supporting projects, inspiring
and educating the public, and partnering
with the U.S. Forest Service and other
key stakeholders.

Grand Canyon River Guides
Flagstaff, Arizona
Grand Canyon River Guides works to protect,
preserve and defend the Grand Canyon, celebrating the river community and providing the
best possible river experience for all.

Grand Canyon Wildlands Council
Flagstaff, Arizona
Through land stewardship, volunteer
opportunities and science-based solutions,
this group works to preserve and restore
safe havens for the wild creatures of the
Grand Canyon ecoregion.

Lobo Coalition
Flagstaff, Arizona
The Lobo Coalition seeks to help the critically
endangered Mexican gray wolf recover, and
to restore it to its essential natural role through
volunteer efforts, grassroots action campaigns
and collaboration with conservation, scientific
and sporting organizations.

Northern Jaguar Project
Tucson, Arizona
The Northern Jaguar Project works to preserve
and recover the world’s northernmost jaguar
population and its natural habitats through
educational programs and the establishment,
care and expansion of a safe-haven sanctuary
in northern Mexico.

Our Canyon Lands
Flagstaff, Arizona
Our Canyon Lands works to protect the
sacred and pristine landscape of the greater
Canyonlands region of Utah from the destructive pressures of industrial development.

58

Save the Scenic Santa Ritas
Tucson, Arizona

California Coastkeeper Alliance
San Francisco, California

Save the Scenic Santa Ritas uses education and
outreach to protect the scenic, aesthetic, recreational, environmental and wildlife values of the
Santa Rita and Patagonia mountains from degradation due to mining and mineral exploration.

With 12 member watchdog groups from
San Diego to the Oregon border, California
Coastkeeper Alliance safeguards the state’s
waters and speaks for a healthy coast.

Sky Island Alliance
Tucson, Arizona
The Sky Island Alliance is dedicated to the protection and restoration of native species and
habitat in the Sky Island region by establishing
protected areas, restoring landscapes and promoting appreciation of the region’s biodiversity.

California
Alpine Watershed Group
Markleeville, California
The Alpine Watershed Group works to preserve
and enhance the natural system functions of
Alpine County’s watersheds.

American River Conservancy
Coloma, California
Through land conservation, stewardship and
education, the American River Conservancy
works to ensure healthy ecosystems within
the Upper American and Upper Cosumnes
River watersheds.

AquAlliance
Chico, California
AquAlliance challenges campaigns to divert
water from the northern Sacramento River
region and defends Northern California waters
through advocacy, education and litigation.

Blue Tomorrow
Santa Barbara, California
Blue Tomorrow is dedicated to helping people
sustainably manage environmental and water
resources to improve social and environmental health.

Bodie Hills Conservation Partnership
Bridgeport, California
This coalition works toward the permanent
protection of the Bodie Hills, balancing conservation and access while protecting this special
place from the boom-and-bust abuse of mining.

Butte Environmental Council
Chico, California
The Butte Environmental Council protects and
defends the land, air and water of Northern
California’s Butte County and the surrounding
region through educational programs and
advocacy campaigns.

California Environmental
Justice Alliance
Oakland, California
California Environmental Justice Alliance works
for environmental justice by organizing in lowincome communities and communities of color
to create a healthier, more prosperous state.

California Institute
of Environmental Studies
Davis, California
The California Institute of Environmental
Studies seeks to further understanding of
threatened ecosystems and use this knowledge
for restoration, preservation and education.

California Trout
San Francisco, California
California Trout works to protect and restore
wild trout, steelhead and salmon populations,
and their waters, throughout California.

California Water Impact Network
Santa Barbara, California
This network advocates for equitable and
environmentally sensitive use of California’s
water through research, planning, public
education and litigation.

Californians Against Fracking
Oakland, California
This coalition of environmental, business,
health, agriculture, labor and political
organizations works to enact a statewide
ban on fracking in California.

CASM SFV
Sylmar, California
CASM SFV fosters the responsible use and
protection and improvement of the natural and
built environment of the San Fernando Valley.

The Coastal Watershed Council works to
preserve and protect coastal watersheds
through community stewardship, education
and monitoring.

Community Partners
Los Angeles, California
Commmunity Partners is working to make
the San Gabriel Valley a safer, healthier and
more enjoyable place for cycling.

Communities for a Better Environment
Huntington Park, California
Communities for a Better Environment works
to build the power of people living in Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
low-income and communities of color to achieve
environmental health and justice.

Avian Conservation Center
Mission To identify and address vital environmental issues through educational, research and conservation initiatives, and to provide medical care
to injured birds of prey and shorebirds.
Activities The center is home to nearly 50 species of birds of prey from around
the world, which we use to teach people about the importance of conservation
and the value of birds as sentinels for overall environmental health. In addition
to providing educational opportunities for tens of thousands of students and
other members of the public each year, the center provides professional medical
treatment for approximately 600 sick and injured raptors and shorebirds with
the goal of returning them to the wild. Most of these birds have been negatively affected by human activities, which provides insight into our impacts
on the environment. The center also manages a number of research initiatives
and is home to the SC Oiled Bird Treatment Facility.
Accomplishments In 2014, we provided educational programming for nearly
30,000 children (including many Title I students) and adults. We welcomed more
than 10,000 additional visitors to our campus, sharing valuable insights gained
through our medical and research initiatives. In early 2015 the Avian Conservation
Center will complete its annual staff training and certification as first responders
under its SC Oiled Bird Treatment Facility.

Earth Law Center seeks to transform laws,
economies, policies and governance systems
to recognize the inherent rights of all Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
inhabitants and ecosystems to coexist, thrive
and evolve.

Earthjustice
San Francisco, California
This public-interest law firm advances legisÂ­
lation and litigates to defend the magnificent
places, natural resources and wildlife of
the world.

Eel River Recovery Project
Arcata, California
Eel River Recovery Project empowers
communities to collaborate in monitoring the
ecological conditions of the Eel River, share
information about the health of the watershed
and work together to formulate and implement
an ecosystem restoration strategy.

Environmental Protection
Information Center
Arcata, California
EPIC uses a science-based approach, as well
as citizen advocacy and strategic litigation,
to protect and restore ancient forests, watersheds and native species in Northern California.

59

Fair Trade USA
Oakland, California

Friends of Rose Canyon
San Diego, California

Island Conservation
Santa Cruz, California

Fair Trade USA works to enable sustainable
development by cultivating a more equitable
global trade model that benefits farmers,
workers, consumers, industry and the earth.

Friends of Rose Canyon works to protect,
preserve and restore San Diego’s Rose
Canyon and the Rose Creek watershed
through volunteer events, educational
programs and conservation work.

Island Conservation is working to prevent extinctions by removing invasive species from islands.

Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association
San Francisco, California
This group works to protect the wildlife and
habitats in the Gulf of the Farallones National
Marine Sanctuary by developing a diverse
community of active ocean stewards.

Fibershed
San Geronimo, California
Fibershed is working for the emergence of an
international system of regional textile communities that enliven connection and ownership of
soil-to-soil textile processes designed to build
soil carbon stocks on working landscapes.

Food for Thought
Ojai, California
Food for Thought works with the Ojai community to support, educate and inspire school
children and their families to make healthier
food choices.

Food, What?!
Santa Cruz, California

Friends of the Inyo
Bishop, California
Friends of the Inyo helps to protect the
public lands and wildlife of the Eastern Sierra
by getting citizens involved in exploring
and preserving the area’s natural heritage.

Friends of the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles, California
Friends of the Los Angeles River is working
to protect and restore the natural and historic
heritage of the Los Angeles River and its
riparian habitat through inclusive planning,
education and wise stewardship.

Global Community Monitor
El Cerrito, California
Global Community Monitor trains and supports
“fenceline” communities in industrial areas
in the use of environmental monitoring tools
so they can document and understand the
impact of industrial pollution on their health
and the environment.

John Muir Project
Big Bear City, California
The Earth Island Institute’s John Muir Project
is dedicated to ending the federal timber sales
program, which consistently undermines scientific conclusions and the ecological management
of national forests and other federal lands.

Kern Valley River Council
Kernville, California
The Kern Valley River Council is working
to preserve and enhance the ecological,
economic, recreational and aesthetic values
of the Kern River.

Kitchen Table Advisors
San Francisco, California
Kitchen Table Advisors seeks to fuel the growth
and long-term financial viability of small, sustainable farms in the greater San Francisco Bay Area
by providing personalized and practical business planning and financial advising to farmers.

Klamath Riverkeeper
Orleans, California

GrowingGreat
Manhattan Beach, California

Klamath Riverkeeper restores water quality
and fisheries throughout the Klamath Basin
and advances its mission through grassroots
organizing, policy advocacy and legal action.

GrowingGreat works to inspire children and
adults to adopt healthy eating habits, thereby
reducing the risk of obesity and disease.

Land Trust for Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara, California

The Foothill Conservancy works to protect,
restore and sustain the natural and human
environment in Amador and Calaveras counties
through education, events, advocacy campaigns and policy work.

Habitat Works
La Crescenta, California

The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County works
to protect important open space, wildlife habitat, farms and ranches.

Heal the Bay is dedicated to making Southern
California coastal waters and watersheds—
including Santa Monica Bay—safe, healthy
and clean.

Food, What?! is a youth-empowerment and
food-justice program that uses sustainably
grown food as the vehicle for growing strong,
healthy and inspired teens.

Foothill Conservancy
Jackson, California

Friends of Del Norte
Gasquet, California
Friends of Del Norte is working to protect and
defend the wild lands, waters and wildlife of
California’s northwesternmost county through
advocacy, science, education, administrative
and legal challenges and community partici­
pation in decision-making.

Friends of Los Gatos Creek
San Jose, California
Friends of Los Gatos Creek is working to
restore its namesake to a natural, viable
condition so salmon, steelhead trout and
other natural inhabitants of the creek may
thrive in its waters once again.

60

Homeless Garden Project
Santa Cruz, California
Homeless Garden Project promotes a thriving
and inclusive community, workforce and local
food system by helping people find the tools
they need to build a home in the soil of its
urban farm and garden.

International Rivers
Berkeley, California
International Rivers protects rivers and
defends the rights of communities that
depend on them by working to stop
destructive dams and promoting water
and energy solutions for a just and
sustainable world.

environmental + social initiatives

Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
Los Angeles, California
The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
is dedicated to making Los Angeles County
more bike-friendly through programs, campaigns, events, outreach and education.

Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust
Long Beach, California
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust is working
for the permanent protection, restoration and
preservation of Los Cerritos Wetlands and the
surrounding estuary area.

MSI puts students in direct physical contact with
the San Francisco Bay environment to cultivate
their natural sense of curiosity while enriching
their understanding of science and fostering
a responsibility to protect their environment.

Matilija Coalition
Ventura, California
The Matilija Coalition is committed to the
environmental restoration of the Ventura River
watershed and removal of Matilija Dam.

Motor Avenue Foundation
Los Angeles, California
The Motor Avenue Foundation is a communityled organization working to create beneficial
programs to improve its neighborhood,
including an urban garden program to promote the health, synergy and self-reliance
of the community.

Grant Recipient

2015

Marine Science Institute
Redwood City, California

Conservation Lands Foundation
Mission We are the only organization solely dedicated to the protection,
restoration and expansion of the National Conservation Lands—America’s
newest system of protected public lands managed by the Bureau of Land
Management. The future of conservation on public lands lies with the BLM,
as only 12 percent of the 245 million acres the agency manages are managed
for conservation.
Activities Since our founding in 2007, we have used education, advocacy and
partnerships to build a powerful network of more than 50 groups to stand
up for National Conservation Lands. We’ve acted as a catalyst with partners
to pass national legislation defining the National Conservation Lands; developed policies with teeth so national conservation areas, monuments and other
National Conservation Lands are managed for the primacy of their conservation values; led a national constituency that has defended the Antiquities
Act; secured greater funding and engaged diverse groups that have not
traditionally seen themselves as conservationists; and granted more than
$3.5 million to groups in the Friends Grassroots Network.
Accomplishments We have developed some of the most effective local conservation leaders in the most challenging places for conservation in America
and spurred designation of more than a dozen areas as national monuments
by Presidential proclamation. We have also worked directly with grassroots
groups to help raise more than $2.3 million for their programs in 2014 alone.

The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center
advances community-based strategies for
social change and environmental stewardship
through research, demonstrations, educational
events and other programs at its organic farm
in Sonoma County.

61

p r og r a m u pd a t e

Moosejaw X Patagonia
Charity Challenge
Last year, Patagonia Midwest sales rep Kathleen Gillett teamed up with
Moosejaw, one of our dealers, to give environmental grant money through
our Wholesale Grants Program. Moosejaw created a contest they dubbed the
Moosejaw x Patagonia Charity Thing. Using Facebook and Twitter, they asked
customers to nominate their favorite environmental groups. From those nominations, Patagonia and Moosejaw picked 16 environmental nonprofits that fit
Patagonia’s tithing guidelines. Moosejaw customers then voted with their dollars through a crowd-sourcing fundraising platform. The environmental groups
that were nominated also reached out to their supporters to do the same. The
three groups that raised the most money also received Patagonia grants. The
League to Save Lake Tahoe (California) placed first, raising more than $27,000,
plus a $5,000 Patagonia grant. The Leelanau Conservancy (Michigan) pulled
in a little over $26,000, plus a $3,000 Patagonia grant. And the Michigan Land
Use Institute (Michigan) garnered $17,728 and received $2,000 from us.
That wasn’t the end of the contest. Soon after the rankings were established, Bob Sutherland—owner of Michigan-based food purveyor Cherry
Republic—pledged to match Patagonia’s contributions to the two Michigan
groups. When the cash was counted, the Leelanau Conservancy had earned
$32,560, the Michigan Land Use Institute $21,728 and the League to Save Lake
Tahoe some $32,000.

Ocean Discovery Institute
San Diego, California

Paso Pacifico
Ventura, California

Ocean Discovery Institute engages, educates
and inspires young people from diverse backgrounds through science-based exploration of
the ocean and nature, preparing them to be
tomorrow’s scientific and environmental leaders.

Paso Pacífico seeks to restore and conserve
the natural ecosystems of Central America’s
Pacific Slope by collaborating with landowners,
communities and involved organizations.

Once Upon a Watershed
Ojai, California
Once Upon a Watershed seeks to awaken wonder, appreciation, discovery and connection
with the natural world through hands-on
watershed education, restoration and stewardship experiences.

Pacific Forest Trust
San Francisco, California
Pacific Forest Trust seeks to sustain America’s
forests for all their public benefits—wood,
water, wildlife, recreation and wellbeing—
in cooperation with private landowners
and communities.

62

Pesticide Action Network North America
Oakland, California
PAN North America works to end our reliance
on pesticides by advancing fair, ecological
pest-management solutions through citizens’
advocacy campaigns and by fostering an international network of consumer, labor, health,
environmental and agricultural groups.

Point Blue Conservation Science
Petaluma, California
Point Blue Conservation Science seeks
to advance the conservation of birds, other
wildlife and ecosystems through science,
partnerships and outreach.

Protect American River Canyons
Auburn, California
Protect American River Canyons is dedicated
to the protection of the North and Middle
Forks of the American River and its canyons
for all to care for and responsibly enjoy.

Restore Hetch Hetchy
Oakland, California
Restore Hetch Hetchy is working to return the
Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park
to its natural splendor, while continuing to meet
the water and power needs of all communities
that depend on the Tuolumne River.

RE-volv
San Francisco, California
RE-volv empowers people and communities
to invest collectively in renewable energy
through crowdfunding.

Rob Machado Foundation
Encinitas, California
The Rob Machado Foundation seeks to
initiate and facilitate educational programs
that help children understand their contribution to a healthy earth.

San Bruno Mountain Watch is working to preserve the ecosystems of San Bruno Mountain
in San Mateo County, California.

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Santa Barbara, California

Sequoia ForestKeeper
Kernville, California

San Diego Coastkeeper’s team of scientists,
activists, educators and lawyers work with
the community and decision makers to
protect and restore water throughout San
Diego County to be fishable, swimmable
and drinkable.

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper advances the
protection of the Santa Barbara Channel and
its watersheds through science-based advocacy, education, fieldwork and ruleenforcement initiatives.

Sequoia ForestKeeper serves as the eyes, ears
and voice of the forest in the southern Sierra
Nevada, protecting and restoring its eco­
systems through monitoring, enforcement,
education and litigation.

The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition advo­
cates for and protects the rights of all people
who ride bicycles, promoting bicycling
as a mainstream, safe and enjoyable form
of transportation and recreation.

This group seeks to promote, protect and
preserve the environment, ecology and quality
of life in the Santa Clarita Valley with a special
focus on the health of the watershed of the
Santa Clara River and the river itself.

San Diego Roots Sustainable
Food Project
San Diego, California

Santa Monica Mountains Fund
Thousand Oaks, California

San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project is
working to educate, cultivate and empower sustainable food communities in San Diego County.

San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
Milpitas, California
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their
habitats through science and outreach.

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Education Fund
San Francisco, California
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Education Fund provides education,
training and services for San Francisco
Bay Area residents who commute by
bicycle or ride bicycles recreationally.

San Juan Ridge Taxpayers Association
North San Juan, California
San Juan Ridge Taxpayers Association
promotes the environmental, social and
economic well-being of the San Juan Ridge
community in rural Nevada County.

Sanctuary Forest
Whitethorn, California
Sanctuary Forest works with landowners to
conserve and restore land in the Mattole River
watershed and, in some cases, holds conser­
vation easements to protect private lands.

SanDiego350.org
San Marcos, California
This all-volunteer group holds peaceful rallies
and educational events in San Diego County
about environmental issues such as climate
change, greenhouse gas emissions and fracking.

Santa Ana River Trust
Riverside, California
The Santa Ana River Trust is working to establish the Santa Ana River as an inviting and
vibrant public place for the community to enjoy
and connect with nature.

The Santa Monica Mountains Fund promotes
and assists the park agencies of the Santa
Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
in fostering the protection of park resources
by the public through education, research,
improved facilities, citizen engagement and
stewardship.

Save Auburn Ravine Salmon and
Steelhead
Auburn, California
Save Auburn Ravine Salmon and Steelhead
is working to develop a citizen science program
to help restore migratory fish populations.

Save The Bay
Oakland, California
Save The Bay is dedicated to saving the San
Francisco Bay and Sacramento/San Joaquin
Estuary by reducing pollution, improving fisheries, and protecting and restoring natural
wetlands, forests and underwater grasses.

Save The Frogs!
Berkeley, California
Save The Frogs! works to protect amphibian
populations and to promote a society that
respects and appreciates nature and wildlife.

Save The Waves Coalition
Davenport, California
Save The Waves Coalition is dedicated to protecting and preserving the coastal environment,
with an emphasis on the surf zone, and educating the public about its value.

Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Foundation
Bishop, California
This group champions the endangered Sierra
Nevada bighorn sheep by building a community
of committed advocates, fundraising, and
purchasing equipment and defraying transportation costs for relocations and genetic research.

Sierra Streams Institute
Nevada City, California
The Sierra Streams Institute links water,
science and people for the benefit of human
and environmental health.

Siskiyou Land Conservancy
Arcata, California
Siskiyou Land Conservancy protects bio­
logically important lands and streams in the five
northwestern counties of California and encourages residents to build sustainable communities
that naturally integrate with these lands.

South Yuba River Citizens League
Nevada City, California
SYRCL seeks to protect the Yuba River and
its wild salmon population through its River
Ambassadors program, education, an annual
film festival, water-quality testing and longrange planning advocacy.

Student Conservation Association
Oakland, California
The Student Conservation Association engages
youth and young adults in conservation service,
citizen stewardship, youth development and
conservation career development to build the
next generation of conservation leaders and
inspire a lifelong commitment to stewardship.

Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture
works to increase understanding of the food
journey from field to consumption and to connect schoolchildren to farmland and
gardens in their own backyard.

The Hub is Santa Cruz County’s resource center
for human-powered transportation, promoting
the use of feet, bicycles, bike trailers and other
nonmotorized vehicles.

Sugar Pine Foundation
South Lake Tahoe, California
The Sugar Pine Foundation is dedicated to
restoring sugar pines and other white pines in
California’s Lake Tahoe region by involving youth
and community in hands-on forest stewardship.

Surfrider Foundation
San Francisco Chapter
San Francisco, California

The Sierra Club Foundation
San Francisco, California
The Sierra Club Foundation is helping to educate and empower humanity to preserve the
natural and human environment by providing
resources to the Sierra Club and, on occasion,
other nonprofit organizations.

The Sierra Fund
Nevada City, California

Surfrider Foundation’s San Francisco Chapter
is working to restore the beach at Sloat
Boulevard through managed retreat.

The Sierra Fund seeks to increase and organize
investment to protect and preserve the natural
resources and communities of the Sierra
Nevada region.

Sustainable Surf
Manhattan Beach, California

The Story of Stuff Project
Berkeley, California

Sustainable Surf promotes practices that protect
ocean health and other natural resources related
to surfing through educational and action campaigns and by advocating for the use of more
sustainable technology in the surf industry.

The Story of Stuff Project raises awareness
about consumption habits and their effect
on the planet through movies, DVDs, podcasts
and other campaigns to reduce plastic pollution, grow the sharing economy and end
political corruption.

Tahoe Food Hub
Truckee, California
Tahoe Food Hub seeks to galvanize its community to build a regional, sustainable and
equitable food system in North Lake Tahoe.

The 5 Gyres Institute
Santa Monica, California
The 5 Gyres Institute works to document and
understand plastic pollution in our oceans
through research, outreach, education and
action to pave the way for a zero-waste world.

The Edible Schoolyard Project
Berkeley, California
The Edible Schoolyard Project is working to
build and share an edible education curriculum
for all schools.

The Land Conservancy
of San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo, California
Through voluntary and collaborative measures,
The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo
County works to permanently protect and
enhance lands having important scenic,
agricultural, habitat and cultural values for
the benefit of people and wildlife.

The Ruckus Society
Oakland, California
The Ruckus Society provides environmental,
human rights and social justice organizers with
the tools, training and support needed to
achieve their goals through creative, strategic
nonviolent direct action.

64

The Wahine Project: 1Bag1World
Pacific Grove, California
This effort by The Wahine Project will help
to eliminate harmful plastics polluting our
oceans by providing collection bins throughout
San Diego, where residents can deposit their
single-use plastic bags from markets, take-out
restaurants and shops.

Tri-Valley CAREs
Livermore, California
Tri-Valley CAREs is dedicated to the cleanup
of nuclear pollution at Livermore Lab and the
conversion of the lab to a center for socially
beneficial research.

Tuleyome
Woodland, California
Tuleyome works to protect both the wild and
agricultural heritage of the northern inner
Coast Range and western Sacramento Valley.

Tuolumne River Trust
San Francisco, California
The Tuolumne River Trust promotes stewardship of California’s Tuolumne River through
education, community outreach, restoration
projects, advocacy and grassroots organizing.

Valley Verde
San Jose, California
Valley Verde empowers low-income residents to
become successful organic gardeners to reduce
food insecurity, improve health and the environment and to promote organic gardening as a tool
to build an environmentally strong Silicon Valley.

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy
Ventura, California
The Ventura Hillsides Conservancy protects
and conserves open space resources through
acquisition of land and easements, stewardship
of protected lands and public education about
local natural resources.

Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley
San Jose, California
Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley provides
high-quality care and rehabilitation to
urban wildlife and promotes a respectful
coexistence between humans and wildlife
in their communities.

Wishtoyo Foundation
Ventura, California
The Wishtoyo Foundation enhances the
well-being of communities by preserving and
protecting Chumash Native American culture,
and the natural resources all people depend
upon, through education, outreach, restoration
projects, advocacy and legal action.

Zen Foundation
San Francisco, California
The Zen Foundation works to support the
activities and mission of the San Francisco Zen
Center, including work at its San Francisco City
Center, Green Gulch Farm and Tassajara Zen
Mountain Center.

Aspen Center for Environmental Studies exists
to inspire a life-long commitment to the Earth
by educating for environmental responsibility,
conserving and restoring the balance of natural
communities, and advancing the ethic that the
Earth must be respected and nurtured.

CAN’d Aid Foundation
Longmont, Colorado
The CAN’d Aid Foundation raises money for
things that matter, such as helping to prevent
child abuse, working with bike groups or
digging out neighbors from the recent flood.

Citizens for a Healthy Community
Hotchkiss, Colorado
Citizens for a Healthy Community protects
Colorado from irresponsible gas and oil drilling.

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
Golden, Colorado
The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative preserves
and protects the natural integrity of the
54 mountains in Colorado that are more than
14,000 feet high through active stewardship
and public education.

Grant Recipient

2015

Colorado
Aspen Center
for Environmental Studies
Aspen, Colorado

Winter Wildlands Alliance
Mission Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA) is a national nonprofit organi­
zation working to preserve and promote winter wildlands and a quality
human-powered snowsports experience on public lands.
Activities From the backcountry to the back halls of Congress, Winter
Wildlands Alliance works with grassroots groups and individual activists
to ensure balanced management of our winter landscapes. WWA offers
a national environmental education program called SnowSchool that each
winter takes more than 30,000 grade-school students out for a snowshoe
fieldtrip and snow-ecology lesson.
Accomplishments WWA is most effective when combining our national
expertise with local engagement, as evidenced by our successful campaign
uniting a scrappy group of backcountry skiers under the banner of Stop
SkiLink Now to protect Utah’s Central Wasatch Range. Our efforts thwarted
a proposed Congressional Act that would have forced the sale of national forest lands to a Canadian Development Corporation in order to install a gondola
called SkiLink, connecting Canyons Resort on the Wasatch Back with Solitude
Mountains Resort on the Wasatch Front and in the process bisecting a huge
tract of pristine backcountry terrain. Out of that effort, WWA helped form
Wasatch Backcountry Alliance, now a leading voice in ongoing efforts to protect the Wasatch backcountry. winterwildlands.org

Colorado Mountain Club
Golden, Colorado
The Colorado Mountain Club works to preserve
alpine regions in Colorado through conservation initiatives, adventure travel trips and
educational programs.

Community Cycles
Boulder, Colorado
Community Cycles educates and advocates
for bicycles as an affordable, viable and sustainable means of transportation and personal
enjoyment within our community.

EarthLinks
Denver, Colorado
EarthLinks promotes organic gardening,
natural beekeeping and composting to sustain
people and the planet through the creation
of Earth-friendly products.

Eco-Cycle
Boulder, Colorado
Eco-Cycle promotes a zero-waste culture
through recycling programs at area businesses, educational programs for kids,
a Q&A recycling hotline and its Center for
Hard-to-Recycle Materials.

EcoFlight
Aspen, Colorado
EcoFlight uses small aircraft to promote protection of remaining wild lands and wildlife habitat
in the western U.S., providing an aerial perspective and educational programs that encourage
environmental stewardship.

Felt Soul Media
Denver, Colorado
Felt Soul Media seeks to inspire audiences
to become activists and defend the environment by sharing compelling human stories
compounded with stunning visuals that
develop nature as a character in her own right.

Frack Free Colorado
Boulder, Colorado

High Country Conservation Advocates
Crested Butte, Colorado
High Country Conservation Advocates protects
the health and natural beauty of the land, rivers
and wildlife in and around Gunnison County.

Independence Pass Foundation
Aspen, Colorado
The Independence Pass Foundation works with
government agencies to develop and implement projects that maintain and enhance the
ecology, beauty and safety of Colorado’s
Independence Pass.

Information Network
for Responsible Mining
Norwood, Colorado
INFORM educates the public about the dangers of irresponsible mining, monitors all
hard-rock mining in Colorado and increases
citizen engagement.

Land Trust of Upper Arkansas
Salida, Colorado
The Land Trust of Upper Arkansas is dedicated
to protecting the important natural, agricultural,
scenic and historic lands, water resources and
riparian areas in central Colorado.

Open Water Foundation
Fort Collins, Colorado
The Open Water Foundation develops and
maintains open-source software to help organizations make better decisions about important
water issues.

Frack Free Colorado is working to raise
Coloradans’ awareness about the dangers
of fracking and present to them ways to
accelerate a move to renewable energy
and sustainable living.

Park Hill Bike Depot
Denver, Colorado

Great Old Broads for Wilderness
Durango, Colorado

Reel Thing Films
Telluride, Colorado

Great Old Broads for Wilderness helps preserve
and protect U.S. wilderness and wild lands by
using the voices and activism of elders in everything from educational programs to litigation.

Reel Thing Films is focused on social justice
and environmental projects with the goal
of telling compelling stories that inspire positive social change.

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Park Hill Bike Depot works to foster the growth
of bicyclists and bicycle communities through
programs, education and access.

environmental + social initiatives

Rock the Earth
Denver, Colorado
Rock the Earth works closely with the music
industry and its fans to protect the environment
through legal action, postcard campaigns,
protests and concerts to create a new gener­
ation of activists.

Rocky Mountain Field Institute
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Rocky Mountain Field Institute protects and
enhances the ecological health of our land
and water resources by completing projects
focused on watershed restoration, forest health
and sustainable recreation areas.

Rocky Mountain Wild
Denver, Colorado
Rocky Mountain Wild works to protect, connect and restore wildlife and wild lands in
the southern Rockies of Colorado, southern
Wyoming, and eastern Utah through conservation campaigns, planning and the use of
mapping technologies.

San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council
Alamosa, Colorado
The San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council helps
protect and restore the biological diversity,
ecosystems and natural resources of the upper
Rio Grande bioregion, balancing ecological
values and human needs.

Save The Colorado
Fort Collins, Colorado
Save The Colorado works to protect and restore
the ecological health of the Colorado River
by raising public awareness and by inspiring
and supporting environmental organizations.

Save The Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper
Fort Collins, Colorado
Save The Poudre: Poudre Waterkeeper is working
to protect and restore the ecological health
of the Poudre River through scientific research
and public education.

Sheep Mountain Alliance
Telluride, Colorado
Sheep Mountain Alliance is dedicated to the
preservation of the natural environment in
southwest Colorado by providing education for
and protection of regional ecosystems, wildlife
habitats and watersheds.

The Southern Plains Land Trust seeks to create a
shortgrass prairie preserve network that enables
native plant and animal communities to once
again thrive with minimal human intervention.

Telluride Mountain Club
Telluride, Colorado
The Telluride Mountain Club advocates for
safe, enjoyable and environmentally responsible opportunities for human-powered
recreational activity in the Telluride region.

The Access Fund
Boulder, Colorado
The Access Fund helps keep U.S. climbing areas
open and preserves the climbing environment
through conservation, citizen mobilization, land
acquisition and educational programs.

The Greenbacks of Colorado
Trout Unlimited
Denver, Colorado
The Greenbacks of Colorado Trout Unlimited
seeks to make conservation fun and engaging
while promoting and protecting coldwater fisheries.

The Kitchen Community
Boulder, Colorado
The Kitchen Community works to build
community through food in at-risk and
underserved schools across the country.

Thompson Divide Coalition
Carbondale, Colorado
The Thompson Divide Coalition seeks to secure
permanent protection from oil and gas development on federal lands in Colorado’s Thompson
Divide Area by educating the public and working with lawmakers and government agencies.

Grant Recipient

2015

Southern Plains Land Trust
Centennial, Colorado

Catskill Mountainkeeper
Mission Catskill Mountainkeeper (CMK) is an advocacy group in New
York State working to protect the ecological integrity that is essential
to healthy communities.
Activities CMK was one of the first environmental groups to challenge the
expansion of fracking in New York. Seven years ago, when fracking was not
even on the radar of most people, CMK started a program to educate New
Yorkers about its dangers. We supported new research to improve the public’s
understanding of the risks of fracking and pressured state officials to reopen
New York’s fracking regulations, paving the way for public hearings and providing a platform to draw further attention to the menace of fracking and the
failure of state authorities to effectively regulate it. We led the call for a comprehensive Health Impact Assessment of fracking by the state and assisted
communities in using Home Rule authority to pass their own local fracking
bans. CMK helped build an inclusive and broad-based anti-fracking movement consisting of local grassroots and front-line groups, national NGOs,
health professionals, and representatives from religious and indigenous
communities, and founded New Yorkers Against Fracking (NYAF) to coordinate the anti-fracking messaging and actions statewide. The NYAF coalition
was instrumental in ensuring a vocal anti-fracking presence at nearly every
public event attended by Governor Cuomo throughout the state and has since
grown to include over 250 member organizations.
Accomplishments CMK’s activity was instrumental in getting a historic
statewide ban on fracking in New York in December 2014. Critical to the success were the strong relationships and cross-sector collaboration that were
developed. Now CMK is advising groups throughout the country that are
fighting all types of fossil fuel extraction. We are using the same strategy
in our RenewableNY campaign to promote sustainable, renewable solutions
to our energy needs.

Trails and Open Space Coalition
Colorado Springs, Colorado
The Trails and Open Space Coalition seeks
to create a network of trails, greenways and
open space in the Colorado Springs and Pikes
Peak region.

UrbiCulture Community Farms
Denver, Colorado
UrbiCulture Community Farms works to provide
local, sustainably grown, affordable food to people of all income levels in the metro Denver area.
photo: Beth Scullion

Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado
Denver, Colorado
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado mobilizes
people to volunteer in Colorado’s wild places
to create a corps of wilderness stewards.

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Western Colorado Congress
Grand Junction, Colorado
WCC protects the quality of life in western
Colorado by acting as an environmental
watchdog over oil and gas drilling, food and
agriculture, public lands, uranium mining
and oil shale.

Western Hardrock Watershed Team
Durango, Colorado
This coalition of community and watershed
groups confronts the challenges remaining from
mining in the West by addressing environmental
degradation and helping rural communities
attain the skills and capacity they need.

Western Mining Action Project
Lyons, Colorado
photo: Ian McAllister

The Western Mining Action Project provides
free legal services for grassroots organizations
and Native American tribes on mining issues
in the western U.S. in order to protect air and
water quality, wild lands, biological diversity
and sacred lands.

Western Resource Advocates
Boulder, Colorado
p r og r a m u pd a t e

British Columbia
At age 18, Patagonia owner and founder Yvon Chouinard started to climb and
explore the wilds of British Columbia. British Columbia not only boasts some
of the world’s best climbing in the Bugaboos and Selkirks, but also the best
steelhead fishing in regions known as the Sacred Headwaters.
“British Columbia has everything, absolutely everything that I love,”
he said. “Most important, there are still really wild places up there.”
British Columbia is a place where rivers still flow freely and teem with life.
With habitat large and wild enough to support intact ecosystems like the Great
Bear Rainforest, it is home to rare species, such as coastal wolves that swim
in the open ocean and the legendary spirit bear, a walking contradiction—
a white black bear.
But the province faces critical environmental challenges from tar sands
pipelines, mining, logging and development in places like Jumbo Valley.
Because of Yvon’s connection to this area, Patagonia began supporting
grassroots environmental groups here in 1991. Since then, we have made
hundreds of grants to organizations in British Columbia totaling more than
$2 million.
With this year’s opening of Patagonia Vancouver, we hope to do even more.
The store is couched in the heart of Kitsilano, a cozy, walkable neighborhood
in Vancouver. One of its first acts was to launch a line of six benefit T-shirts
designed by British Columbia artists Leah Pipe, Ian Reid and Luke Ramsey.
Their designs were silkscreened by a Vancouver factory on T-shirts made in
Canada. Five dollars from the sale of each benefits West Coast Environmental
Law, British Columbia’s legal champion for the environment.
As with so many of our stores, Patagonia Vancouver is already serving as an
environmental hub—helping to raise awareness and offering additional support to those on the frontlines protecting this incredible region we care so
deeply about.

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environmental + social initiatives

Western Resource Advocates works to protect
the West’s land, air and water by promoting
a clean energy future, protecting rivers and
advancing urban water conservation, and safeguarding western lands from poorly planned
energy development.

Western Slope Conservation Center
Paonia, Colorado
The Western Slope Conservation Center builds
an active and aware community to protect and
enhance the lands, air, water and wildlife of the
lower Gunnison River watershed.

Wild Connections
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Wild Connections identifies, protects and
restores lands of the Upper Arkansas and
South Platte watersheds to ensure the survival
of native species and ecological richness.

Connecticut
Bike Walk Connecticut
West Hartford, Connecticut
Bike Walk Connecticut is changing the culture of
transportation through advocacy and education
to make bicycling and walking safe, feasible and
attractive for a healthier, cleaner Connecticut.

Branford Land Trust
Branford, Connecticut
The Branford Land Trust works to preserve open
space in Branford and to promote community
appreciation of its diverse natural features.

Common Ground
New Haven, Connecticut
Common Ground works to create programs
that use parks to teach key ecological concepts
and connect youth to natural resources in their
own communities.

Earthplace maintains a 62-acre wildlife sanctuary
in Connecticut with trails, exhibits, an interactive
natural history museum, public nature programs
and events, and runs a preschool, summer camp
and water-quality testing program.

American Sustainable
Business Council
Washington, District of Columbia

Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Washington, District of Columbia

This business coalition is creating a
vision and framework, and advancing
policies and markets, to support a
vibrant, sustainable economy.

This group advances environmentally sound,
equitable community development by providing
innovative strategies, working models and timely
information to the business, energy, financial
services and waste management sectors.

Friends of the Norwalk River Valley Trail
Ridgefield, Connecticut

Center for Food Safety
Washington, District of Columbia

Land Trust Alliance
Washington, District of Columbia

Friends of the Norwalk River Valley Trail aims
to utilize undeveloped land as part of 38 miles
of trail connecting Norwalk and Danbury, creating
recreational opportunities and a healthy transportation alternative to reach rail stations,
schools, offices and businesses.

Center for Food Safety seeks to protect
human health and the environment by curbing
the use of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms
of sustainable agriculture.

The Land Trust Alliance works to save the
places people love by strengthening land
conservation across America using conservation easements, policy and collaboration
with the conservation community.

Clean Water Fund
Washington, District of Columbia

National Sustainable
Agriculture Coalition
Washington, District of Columbia

New Haven Farms
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven Farms promotes health and community development through urban agriculture.

New Haven/León Sister City Project
New Haven, Connecticut
The New Haven León Sister City Project supports education, social justice and sustainable
development in Nicaragua and Connecticut.

Northeast Organic Farming
Association of Connecticut
Derby, Connecticut
The Northeast Organic Farming Association
of Connecticut advocates for organic food, farming, gardening and land care in Connecticut,
connecting people in the sustainable food and
land-care movements with organic resources
and education.

Delaware
The Nature Conservancy of Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
The Nature Conservancy of Delaware is dedicated to conserving the lands and waters
on which all life depends.

District of Columbia
Amazon Conservation Association
Washington, District of Columbia
This group works to protect the world’s most
diverse landscapes, train the next generation
of Amazonian conservationists and partner
with communities to support livelihoods that
sustain biodiversity.

American Rivers
Washington, District of Columbia
American Rivers protects and restores the
nation’s rivers by helping communities prevent
urban runoff and sewage spills, by removing
outdated and unsafe dams, by operating river
cleanups, and more.

The Clean Water Fund brings together diverse
constituencies to campaign for clean water, air
and protection from toxic pollution in homes,
neighborhoods and workplaces.

Common Good City Farm
Washington, District of Columbia
Common Good City Farm provides hands-on
training in food production, healthy eating and
environmental sustainability to a multicultural,
multiracial and multigenerational community
in Washington, D.C.

Earthworks
Washington, District of Columbia
Earthworks counters the negative impacts of
irresponsible mineral and energy development
by working with communities and grassroots
groups to reform government policies, improve
corporate practices, influence investment decisions and encourage responsible materials
sourcing and consumption.

Endangered Species Coalition
Washington, District of Columbia
The Endangered Species Coalition helps protect endangered species through grassroots
organizing among conservation, scientific, education, religious, humane, sporting, business
and community groups.

Environmental Integrity Project
Washington, District of Columbia
The Environmental Integrity Project promotes
stronger compliance with the nation’s antipollution laws by combining research, reporting and media outreach to spotlight illegal
pollution, expose political intimidation of
enforcement staff, and encourage federal
and state agencies to take enforcement action.

Environmental Working Group
Washington, District of Columbia
The Environmental Working Group seeks
to transform government policies and the
marketplace to conserve land and water,
produce and use energy responsibly, and
ensure that food and consumer products are
free of harmful chemicals.

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
advocates for the reform of federal policy on
sustainable agriculture, with a vision of family
farmers producing healthy, affordable food while
protecting our environment and communities.

Potomac Riverkeeper Network
Washington, District of Columbia
Potomac Riverkeeper Network works to protect
the public’s right to clean water in our rivers and
streams, stopping pollution to promote safe
drinking water, protecting healthy river habitats
and enhancing public use and enjoyment.

Public Employees
for Environmental Responsibility
Washington, District of Columbia
Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility protects public employees
who protect our environment.

The Wilderness Society
Washington, District of Columbia
The Wilderness Society defends wild lands in
the U.S. and inspires Americans to care for and
enjoy wild places through conservation, designation of public lands and efforts to engage
the public.

Theodore Roosevelt
Conservation Partnership
Washington, District of Columbia
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is working to guarantee all Americans
quality places to hunt and fish by strengthening
laws, policies and practices affecting fish and
wildlife conservation and by leading partnerships that influence decision-makers.

Florida
Apalachicola Riverkeeper
Apalachicola, Florida
Apalachicola Riverkeeper helps protect
Florida’s Apalachicola River and Bay, its tributaries and watersheds, and works to improve
and maintain its environmental integrity and
preserve its scenic, recreational and commercial character.

69

2015

Earthplace
Westport, Connecticut

Clean Waterway Society
St. Johns, Florida

Georgia Conservancy
Atlanta, Georgia

Paepae o He‘eia
Kaneohe, Hawaii

The Clean Waterway Society is working to clean,
conserve and enhance our waterways through
actions and partnerships that improve water
quality, institute conservation programs and
rehabilitate and protect our natural resources.

Sea Turtle Conservancy
Gainesville, Florida
The Sea Turtle Conservancy advocates for sea
turtles and their habitats through research,
education and protection programs outside
and in the U.S.

Georgia
Altamaha Riverkeeper
Darien, Georgia
Altamaha Riverkeeper works to protect and
restore the habitat, water quality and flow
of the Altamaha River, from its headwaters
to its terminus.

Atlanta Bicycle Coalition
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta Bicycle Coaltion works to create a
healthier, more sustainable Atlanta by making it
safer, easier and more attractive to bicycle for
fun, fitness and transportation.

Chattahoochee Riverkeeper
Atlanta, Georgia
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper advocates and
works to secure the protection and stewardship
of the Chattahoochee River, its tributaries
and watershed.

Chattooga Conservancy
Clayton, Georgia
The Chattooga Conservancy helps protect and
restore the ecological integrity of the
Chattooga watershed and empowers communities to practice good stewardship on public
and private lands.

Coosa River Basin Initiative/
Upper Coosa Riverkeeper
Rome, Georgia
The Coosa River Basin Initiative/Upper Coosa
Riverkeeper informs and empowers citizens in
the southeast U.S. to protect, preserve and
restore this biologically diverse area.

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Georgia ForestWatch
Dahlonega, Georgia
Georgia ForestWatch works to preserve, protect and restore native ecosystems of the
Chattahoochee-Oconee national forests, and
to inform and inspire the public to be good
stewards of these lands.

Georgia River Network
Athens, Georgia
Georgia River Network seeks to ensure
a clean-water legacy by engaging and
empowering Georgians to protect and restore
their rivers from the mountains to the coast.

GreenLaw
Atlanta, Georgia
GreenLaw provides free legal and technical
assistance to environmental organizations
and community groups throughout Georgia,
helping to prevent pollution that endangers
human health and the environment.

Ogeechee Riverkeeper
Savannah, Georgia
Ogeechee Riverkeeper protects and improves
the water quality of the Ogeechee, the
Canoochee and surrounding coastal rivers.

South River Watershed Alliance
Decatur, Georgia
South River Watershed Alliance restores and
protects the South River and its watershed
through education, water-quality monitoring
and river cleanups.

The Kohala Center
Kamuela, Hawaii
The Kohala Center is working to turn knowledge into action so that communities in Hawaii
and around the world can thrive ecologically,
economically, culturally and socially.

Idaho
Advocates for the West
Boise, Idaho
Advocates for the West uses law and science
to restore streams and watersheds, protect
public lands and wildlife, and ensure clean and
sustainable communities in the American West.

Idaho Conservation League
Boise, Idaho
ICL seeks to ensure that wild Idaho remains
wild and works to protect the values that define
Idaho by building a robust conservation community and advocating for clean water, clean air
and healthy families.

Idaho Rivers United
Boise, Idaho
Idaho Rivers United helps protect and restore
the rivers and native fish of Idaho through grassroots campaigns, outreach and advocacy work.

Living with Wolves
Sun Valley, Idaho
Living with Wolves raises broad public awareness of the truth about wolves, their social
nature, their importance to healthy ecosystems
and the threats to their survival.

Fisheries Conservation Foundation seeks to promote a better understanding of marine and freshwater fishery resources and to encourage the
enlightened management of fisheries resources
for their optimum use and enjoyment by the public.

The John G. Shedd Aquarium is committed
to the preservation of aquatic life and ecosystems throughout the world and at home
in the Great Lakes.

Rock Creek Alliance
Sandpoint, Idaho

Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance
Chicago, Illinois

Rock Creek Alliance works to counter pollution
and degradation from hardrock mining
to protect the wild lands, wildlife and water
quality of the Cabinet Mountains ecosystem.

This alliance seeks to encourage and strengthen
the fundamental connection between plants
and human life by creating and implementing
nature-based programming for children and
families throughout Chicago.

2015

Model Forest Policy Program
Sagle, Idaho

Plant Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Plant Chicago is working to develop
circular economies of food production,
energy conservation and material re-use,
empowering people of all backgrounds
to make their cities healthier and
more efficient.

Snake River Alliance
Boise, Idaho
The Snake River Alliance serves as Idaho’s
nuclear watchdog, advocating for clean energy
through community advocacy, collaboration,
education and grassroots organizing.

Snake River Waterkeeper
Boise, Idaho
Snake River Waterkeeper applies law and
science to conserve, protect and promote
sustainable use of the Snake River and
its tributaries.

Winter Wildlands Alliance
Boise, Idaho
The Winter Wildlands Alliance advocates for
winter wild lands and human-powered snow
sports on public lands, providing innovative
programming such as the Backcountry Film
Festival and a “snow school” for children.

Illinois
Chicago Academy of Sciences
Chicago, Illinois

Grant Recipient

The Nature Conservancy nevada
Mission To conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.
Activities The Nature Conservancy works in all 50 states and 35 countries. In
Nevada, we’ve been protecting ecologically important places for more than 30
years, conserving a total of three million acres and 26 miles of rivers and streams.
Our Nevada work is focused on the eastern Sierra rivers (the Truckee, Carson
and Walker), the Colorado River, the Mojave Desert and sagebrush ecosystems.
Accomplishments We strive to build strong partnerships and make conser­
vation a community effort. Our innovative partnership with Patagonia is a
perfect example of how teaming up can make a big difference for people
and nature. In Argentina, we’re working together to improve the region’s
grasslands by collaborating with ranchers that produce wool for Patagonia
clothing. Almost 6,500 miles away in Nevada, volunteers from Patagonia’s
Reno Distribution Center have donated more than 1,000 hours planting native
trees, restoring wetlands and more at our McCarran Ranch Preserve as part of
our ongoing project to revitalize 10 miles of the Truckee River. The river is the
area’s main source of drinking water, and the preserve offers excellent opportunities for fly fishing, hiking, biking, birdwatching and other activities.

Chicago Academy of Sciences is working
to create a positive relationship between
people and nature that grows its region’s urban
connection to the world of nature and science.

Climate Cycle
Chicago, Illinois
Climate Cycle exists to inspire students to
green our world by teaching them about
climate change, renewable energy, cycling
and sustainable practices.

photo: Simon Williams–TNC

Environmental Law & Policy Center
Chicago, Illinois
ELPC develops and leads strategic environmental advocacy campaigns to protect natural
resources and the environment with a focus
on the Midwest.

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The Wetlands Initiative
Chicago, Illinois
The Wetlands Initiative is dedicated to
restoring the wetland resources of the
Midwest to improve water quality, increase
wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and
to reduce flood damage.

Iowa
Iowa Citizens
for Community Improvement
Des Moines, Iowa
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
empowers and unites people of all ethnic
backgrounds to take control of their commu­
nities, identify and address problems and
act as a vehicle for social, economic and
environmental justice.

Kansas
Friends of the Kaw
Lawrence, Kansas
Friends of the Kaw is dedicated to protecting
and preserving the Kansas (Kaw) River by
advocating for water quality and wildlife
habitat, removal of in-river dredges and
recreational uses.

Kentucky
21st Century Parks
Louisville, Kentucky
21st Century Parks serves as stewards
entrusted to create and preserve unexcelled
parklands that reflect the needs and values
of its community.

Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center
Whitesburg, Kentucky
The Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center helps
protect Appalachia’s land and people from
degradation caused by extractive industries
by providing legal services and engaging
in strategic litigation and policy work in areas
such as mine safety, environmental protection
and sustainable energy.

Kentucky Heartwood
Berea, Kentucky
Kentucky Heartwood works to protect
and restore the integrity, stability
and beauty of Kentucky’s native
forests and bioticcommunities through
research, education, advocacy and
nonviolent intervention.

72

Louisiana
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

RESTORE: The North Woods
Hallowell, Maine

Atchafalaya Basinkeeper helps protect and
restore the ecosystems within the Atchafalaya
Basin through education, research, monitoring
and advocacy programs.

RESTORE: The North Woods uses advocacy,
public awareness and citizen action to restore
wilderness, recover endangered wildlife and
protect public lands in the North Woods of the
U.S. and Canada.

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Sebasticook Regional Land Trust
Unity, Maine

This group advocates for the implementation of
sound coastal policies, acts as a watchdog to
make sure those regulations are enforced, and
oversees education and restoration projects
throughout Louisiana’s rich coastal wetlands.

Louisiana Bucket Brigade
New Orleans, Louisiana
The Louisiana Bucket Brigade works with
communities that neighbor the state’s oil
refineries and chemical plants to free those
neighborhoods of industrial pollution.

Sebasticook Regional Land Trust works
to recognize and conserve the rich wild
and working landscape of central Maine’s
Sebasticook River watershed.

The Brunswick FoodShed
Brunswick, Maine
The Brunswick FoodShed connects food producers and people who have an interest in local,
sustainable food production and healthy living.

Maryland
Anacostia Watershed Society
Bladensburg, Maryland
The Anacostia Watershed Society helps restore
and protect the Anacostia River and its watershed communities by cleaning its water,
recovering its shores and honoring its heritage.

Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Takoma Park, Maryland

The Forest Ecology Network promotes the
ecological and aesthetic integrity of the Maine
Woods through public-awareness campaigns
and grassroots citizen activism.

Chesapeake Climate Action Network seeks to
build and mobilize a powerful grassroots movement in its region to call for state, national and
international policies that put us on a path to
climate stability.

Maine Rivers
Yarmouth, Maine
Maine Rivers works to protect, restore and
enhance the ecological health of Maine’s river
systems, working with communities and partners to foster river restoration.

Natural Resources Council of Maine
Augusta, Maine
The Natural Resources Council of Maine
seeks to protect, conserve and restore
Maine’s environment through legislative
and policy work, conservation programs
and advocacy campaigns.

environmental + social initiatives

The Sassafras River Association promotes good
water quality, a balance among recreation,
wildlife and economic activity, and an educated
community that takes action to restore and
maintain the health of the watershed.

Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group
Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group works to
redirect shell (oyster, clam, etc.) from the waste
stream of Martha’s Vineyard, back into the
coastal salt ponds for shellfish restoration
and improved water quality.

South Boston Grows
South Boston, Massachusetts
South Boston Grows works to improve
community green space and advance
knowledge about growing edible plants in
order to increase access to and consumption
of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs in
South Boston.

The Conservation Resource Alliance works
to preserve and protect northern Michigan’s
waterways, wildlife, and forests through
collaborative land-use solutions.

Flint River Corridor Alliance seeks to
initiate and sustain projects in the Flint River
that revitalize the corridor as a community
asset while enriching quality of life.

Empowerment Plan
Detroit, Michigan

FLOW
Traverse City, Michigan

Empowerment Plan gives homeless
individuals jobs while in the shelter so
they can earn money, find a place to
live and gain back independence for
themselves and their families.

FLOW works to ensure the waters of the Great
Lakes are protected, by engaging the public
and decision-makers about threats and abuses
facing the Great Lakes and by advancing solutions to address them.

Grant Recipient

Native Fish Society
Mission Guided by the best available science, the Native Fish Society advocates for the protection and recovery of wild, native fish and promotes the
stewardship of the habitats that sustain them.
Activities For 130 years, the Pacific Northwest’s iconic salmon and steelhead
populations have been in steady decline. To address this problem, we have
built a network of place-based, volunteer River Stewards across the Northwest
and equipped them with scientific understanding and tools to organize their
communities and promote on-the-ground policies and practices that protect
their homewaters.
Accomplishments Through the generous support of Patagonia, last year we
were able to expand the capacity of the River Steward Program, providing
more on-the-ground support and training to River Stewards across the region.
In addition, our River Stewards led efforts to raise public awareness about the
risks of hatchery programs on wild steelhead and salmon. From Washington’s
establishment of Wild Steelhead Management Zones that protect the genetic
integrity of the state’s most important wild steelhead populations in perpetuity, to a precedent-setting U.S. District Court ruling on Oregon’s Sandy River
that has driven hatchery reform actions regionwide, our grassroots volunteers
have been at the core of these conservation victories.

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts
This project of UMass Amherst uses acoustic
telemetry to quantify the movement patterns
of permit and identify critical habitats important for the conservation of fish in Culebra,
Puerto Rico.

Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Plymouth, Massachusetts

photo: Mark Sherwood

Whale and Dolphin Conservation
defends whales and dolphins through
campaigns, lobbying, conservation,
research and rescue.

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Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve
Big Bay, Michigan
Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve is working
to preserve and protect the Yellow Dog watershed in its most natural state.

Minnesota
Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis
Fridley, Minnesota
This Audubon chapter works to preserve, protect and improve existing habitat for birds and
other wildlife and to develop and maintain new
bird and wildlife sanctuaries.

Cycles for Change
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Cycles for Change educates and empowers
people to use bicycles for transportation,
refurbishes bikes and sells them at affordable
prices, and offers free services to those who
visit its open, accessible space.

photo: Ron Hunter

Friends of the
Boundary Waters Wilderness
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
is working to protect, preserve and restore
the wilderness character of the Boundary
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and QueticoSuperior ecosystem.
p r og r a m u pd a t e

Clothing Donations
When members of The Nature Conservancy labored this year to restore
parts of the Truckee River watershed, some wore waders and boots we had
donated to them. When Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers ventured out in the
Montana winter, trying to protect the last wild herd of buffalo from slaughter
by Montana’s Department of Livestock and the National Park Service, many
stayed warm in cold-weather gear from Patagonia.
Through our clothing donation program, this year we gave more than
$300,000 (at our cost) of new and used clothing. Most of it went to environmental groups, which typically wear the used stuff and raise funds with the
new. But we also donated clothing and gear to other nonprofits, as well as the
ever-growing number of folks these days suffering the effects of hurricanes,
mud slides, flooding, fires and other natural disasters.
Huron Pines
Gaylord, Michigan

Kent County Parks Foundation
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Huron Pines works to conserve the forests,
lakes and streams of northeast Michigan by
implementing science-based projects with
partners to restore streams, enhance wildlife
habitat, improve forest health, control invasive
species and engage citizens.

Kent County Parks Foundation expands
and improves parkland, protects the
environment and preserves open space
in Kent County.

Kalamazoo River Watershed Council
Kalamazoo, Michigan

The Little Traverse Conservancy works
to protect the natural diversity and beauty
of northern Michigan by preserving
significant land and scenic areas, and
fostering appreciation and understanding
of the environment.

Kalamazoo River Watershed Council works collaboratively with the community, government
agencies, officials and businesses to improve
and protect the health of the Kalamazoo River,
its tributaries and its watershed.

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The Little Traverse Conservancy
Harbor Springs, Michigan

environmental + social initiatives

Friends of the Headwaters
Park Rapids, Minnesota
Friends of the Headwaters is working to change
the route for two oil pipelines proposed for
Minnesota’s fragile northern lands and waters.

Friends of the Mississippi River
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Friends of the Mississippi River engages
citizens to protect, restore and enhance the
Mississippi River and its watershed in the
Twin Cities region.

Great River Greening
St. Paul, Minnesota
Great River Greening leads and inspires
community-based restoration of forests,
prairies and waters in Minnesota.

Minnesota Environmental Partnership
St. Paul, Minnesota
The Minnesota Environmental Partnership
works to protect our “great outdoors”
by engaging the public and leaders,
and uniting environmental efforts.

Mississippi River Fund
St. Paul, Minnesota
The Mississippi River Fund works to strengthen
the connection between people and the
Mississippi River and to build support for the
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

Alliance for the Wild Rockies
Helena, Montana

Friends of the Wild Swan
Bigfork, Montana

MN350 raises awareness in Minnesota, and
throughout the nation, about global warming
through education, lobbying, advocacy
and rallies.

Alliance for the Wild Rockies works to secure
the ecological integrity of the core wildland
ecosystems and biological linkage corridors
of the wild Rockies bioregion through citizen
empowerment, conservation biology, sustainable economic models and environmental law.

Friends of the Wild Swan seeks to protect and
restore water quality, fish and wildlife habitat
on state and federal public lands in Montana.

Northeastern Minnesotans
for Wilderness
Ely, Minnesota
Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness
works to protect and preserve wilderness and
to advocate for the protection of the Boundary
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Smart Trips
St. Paul, Minnesota
St. Paul Smart Trips is working for a St. Paul
where sustainable transportation is the safe
and easy choice.

The Loppet Foundation
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The Loppet Foundation provides opportunities
for outdoor activities and adventures in the
Twin Cities, running outdoor events, coaching
youth in skiing, biking and canoeing, and
working with the Minneapolis Park Board
to provide trails.

WaterLegacy
Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
WaterLegacy seeks to protect Minnesota’s
waters from sulfide mining and other
threats, and to safeguard the human and
ecological communities that rely on these
natural resources.

Adventurers and Scientists
for Conservation
Bozeman, Montana
This group brings outdoor adventurers and
scientists together to promote conservation
around the globe.

Big Blackfoot Riverkeeper
Greenough, Montana
Big Blackfoot Riverkeeper works to preserve
and protect the Big Blackfoot River in its natural
state, including what’s on the water, in the
water, under the water and near the water.

Buffalo Field Campaign
West Yellowstone, Montana
Dedicated to stopping the harassment and
slaughter of wild Yellowstone buffalo, the
Buffalo Field Campaign helps protect wildlife
habitat and works with First Nations to honor
the sacredness of wild buffalo.

Center for Large Landscape Conservation
Bozeman, Montana
This group works to solve large-scale
challenges, such as climate change and
habitat fragmentation, through policy work
and by forging alliances and fostering colla­
boration among conservation efforts.

Clark Fork Coalition
Missoula, Montana
The Clark Fork Coalition protects and restores
the Clark Fork watershed in western Montana
and northern Idaho through science-based,
results-oriented advocacy work with an emphasis on public education.

Conservation Hawks
Bigfork, Montana
Conservation Hawks seeks to pass on a healthy
natural world to the next generation of sportsmen, defend sporting heritage and traditions,
and educate hunters and anglers on the challenges and threats we face.

Cottonwood Environmental Law Center
Bozeman, Montana
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center works
to protect the people, forests, water and wildlife in the West, using the law, multimedia and
public outreach.

Craighead Institute
Bozeman, Montana
The Craighead Institute seeks to maintain
healthy populations of native plants and wildlife
in the American West, along with healthy human
communities in sustainable ecosystems, through
advocacy work and film and book projects.

Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument
Helena, Montana
This group works on behalf of the Upper
Missouri River Breaks National Monument
through education, advocacy and by
supporting groups and agencies that protect
and restore the monument.

Great Burn Study Group
Missoula, Montana
Through on-the-ground stewardship, advocacy
and education, the Great Burn Study Group
works to permanently protect the wild and
remote character and ecological integrity
of the northern Bitterroot Mountains in western
Montana and northern Idaho.

Headwaters Montana
Whitefish, Montana
Headwaters Montana works to protect water,
wildlife and the traditional outdoor heritage
of Montana and southeast British Columbia.

Keystone Conservation
Bozeman, Montana
Keystone Conservation partners with communities to design and implement strategies that
save a place for America’s keystone species
while keeping people and property secure.

Montana Wildlife Federation
Helena, Montana
The Montana Wildlife Federation is working
to protect and enhance Montana’s public wildlife, lands, waters and fair-chase hunting and
fishing heritage.

Northern Plains Resource Council
Billings, Montana
This group organizes Montana citizens to
safeguard water quality, family farms and
ranches, and the state’s quality of life by
giving them information and tools to help
them participate effectively in decisions
that affect their lives.

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2015

MN350
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Northwest Connections
Swan Valley, Montana

Yaak Valley Forest Council
Troy, Montana

Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful
Reno, Nevada

Northwest Connections cultivates an innovative
approach to conservation that strengthens the
relationship between people and landscapes,
and develops the next generation of conservation leaders.

The Yaak Valley Forest Council protects
roadless areas, restores habitat, works
to build an economy based on restoration
and cultivates dialogue between historically
polarized groups.

Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful is dedicated to
creating a cleaner, more beautiful region through
education and active community involvement.

Plains Justice
Billings, Montana

Yellowstone to Yukon
Conservation Initiative
Bozeman, Montana

The Kiwanis Club of Downtown Sparks teaches
kids responsible bike ownership and use
through schools and youth organizations.

Plains Justice provides legal resources to
communities in the northern plains states and
serves as a voice for clean energy and a sustainable environment.

Prickly Pear Land Trust
Helena, Montana
Prickly Pear Land Trust defends the natural
diversity and rural character of Montana’s
Prickly Pear Valley and adjoining lands through
cooperative efforts with landowners.

Watershed Education Network
Missoula, Montana
The Watershed Education Network fosters
knowledge, appreciation and awareness
of watershed health through science and
outreach, with the goal of creating the next
generation of watershed stewards.

Western Organization of Resource
Councils Education Project
Billings, Montana
This group seeks to build a grassroots base
of citizens working for stewardship and conservation of the land, water and natural resources
of the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains.

Wilderness Watch
Missoula, Montana
Wilderness Watch protects the wilderness character of the 110-million-acre National Wilderness
Preservation System and its wild rivers.

Wildlife Conservation Society
Community Partnerships Program
Ennis, Montana
Wildlife Conservation Society Community
Partnerships Program exists to conserve wildlife and habitat through understanding critical
issues, implementing science-based solutions
and supporting community participation
in conservation.

Combining science and stewardship,
this group seeks to ensure that the worldrenowned wilderness and wildlife of the
Y2Y region can support all of its natural
and human communities.

Nebraska
Center for Rural Affairs
Lyons, Nebraska
The Center for Rural Affairs stands up for
rural communities and brings their voice
to policymakers, advocating for better
health care, clean energy, sustainable
agriculture and community development
in rural America.

The Groundwater Foundation
Lincoln, Nebraska
The Groundwater Foundation exists
to educate people and inspire action
to ensure clean, sustainable groundwater
for future generations.

Nevada
Friends of Black Rock High Rock
Gerlach, Nevada
Friends of Black Rock High Rock works to
manage and preserve the cultural and natural
resources of the Black Rock Desert region
of northwest Nevada through education
and conservation.

Friends of Gold Butte
Mesquite, Nevada
This group works for the permanent protection
of the biological, geological and cultural
resources of Gold Butte through education,
community outreach and advocacy.

Friends of Nevada Wilderness
Reno, Nevada
Friends of Nevada Wilderness is dedicated
to preserving qualified Nevada public lands
as wilderness, protecting them from threats,
informing the public about the values and need
for wilderness, and restoring and improving
the management of wild lands.

Great Basin Resource Watch
Reno, Nevada
Great Basin Resource Watch defends the
health and well-being of the Great Basin’s land,
air, water, wildlife and communities from the
adverse effects of industrial development and
resource extraction through policy work, education and grassroots action.

environmental + social initiatives

Kiwanis Club of Downtown Sparks
Reno, Nevada

The Nature Conservancy in Nevada
Reno, Nevada
The Nature Conservancy in Nevada works to
preserve the state’s lands and waters through
scientific study and partnerships.

New Hampshire
Audubon Society of New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire
The Audubon Society of New Hampshire seeks
to protect New Hampshire’s environment for
wildlife and for people through environmental
education, conservation research, environmental public policy and science-based advocacy.

New Jersey
Mahwah Environmental
Volunteers Organization
Mahwah, New Jersey
Mahwah Environmental Volunteers
Organization seeks to be the model for
the creation of scalable ecological solutions
that inspire and empower people to take
action for a better future.

New Mexico
Amigos Bravos
Taos, New Mexico
Amigos Bravos is a statewide water-conservation
organization guided by social-justice principles
and dedicated to preserving and restoring
the ecological and cultural integrity of New
Mexico’s water and the communities that
depend on it.

Conservation Voters New Mexico
Education Fund
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Conservation Voters New Mexico Education
Fund works to engage New Mexicans to protect
their air, land, water and communities by mobilizing people to advocate on policy, enhancing
the voting process, cultivating conservation
leaders and amplifying the voices of those
most affected.

New Mexico Environmental Law Center
Santa Fe, New Mexico
The New Mexico Environmental Law Center
works to protect the natural environment and
achieve environmental justice for New Mexico’s
communities through legal representation,
policy advocacy and public education.

The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance advances
the protection, restoration and continued
enjoyment of New Mexico’s wild lands and
wilderness areas through administrative protection, federal wilderness designation and
ongoing advocacy.

WildEarth Guardians
Sante Fe, New Mexico
WildEarth Guardians works to protect and
restore the wildlife, wild rivers and wild places
of the American West through advocacy grassroots-action campaigns, media outreach
and litigation.

New York
350.org
Brooklyn, New York
To prevent disastrous climate change, 350.org
works to reduce the concentration of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere below 350 parts
per million.

Bike New York—Star Track
New York, New York
Bike New York—Star Track seeks to empower
New York City children from underresourced
communities by building self-confidence,
strength, goal setting and teamwork through
the exciting sport of track racing.

Grant Recipient

2015

New Mexico Wilderness Alliance
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Rivers Without Borders
Mission Rivers Without Borders is a U.S. and Canadian conservation organization striving to protect the transboundary watersheds of northwest
British Columbia and southeast Alaska. Six spectacular, remote international
river systems here are virtually pristine, and not coincidentally, rich in biodiversity. They also support some of the most productive wild salmon habitat in
the world and are profoundly significant to Native people. But the headwaters
of these watersheds are threatened by proposed mining development
on a massive scale.
Activities By bringing attention to the natural and cultural values of the transboundary watersheds and organizing and empowering commercial fishermen,
Native people, scientists and communities on both sides of the border to speak
up for these values, Rivers Without Borders is creating a counter current against
short-sighted, destructive mining ventures. The voices of these stakeholders
become particularly powerful when channeled to influence mining investment
and decisionmaking. This is where we focus our efforts. Fostering an ecosystem-based, international conversation about the future of the transboundary
watersheds is, we believe, key to keeping them wild and thriving.
Accomplishments At the transboundary region’s heart, the Taku is the largest
totally intact watershed on the Pacific coast of North America. In partnership
with Patagonia, our organizing and outreach work with a First Nation and
Alaska fishermen has stymied an extremely controversial mining proposal for
a decade, keeping the Taku wild.

BRITDOC
Brooklyn, New York
BRITDOC is a film funder and media think
tank dedicated to developing new sources
of production finance and innovate models
of distribution, as well as devising practical
tools to measure the social impact of film and
sharing those with filmmakers worldwide.

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper works to protect
water quality and quantity, and connect people
to water by cleaning up waterways, restoring
habitats and enhancing public access to the
Great Lakes.

Catskill Mountainkeeper
Livingston Manor, New York
Catskill Mountainkeeper works through
a network of concerned citizens to promote
sustainable growth and to protect the natural
resources essential to healthy communities
in the Catskills region.

Community Watersheds
Clean Water Coalition
Bedford, New York
photo: Chris Miller

The Community Watersheds Clean Water
Coalition works to protect and improve New
York City’s Croton watershed, along with all
watersheds in the state, guided by the belief
that safe, clean and affordable drinking water
is a basic human right.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater works to
preserve and protect the Hudson River, its
tributaries and related bodies of water by providing innovative environmental programs,
advocacy and celebrations designed to inspire,
educate and activate the next generation of
environmental leaders.

Sweet Jane Productions creates new works,
such as the documentary film Gasland II, that
address the most pressing social, political and
environmental issues of our time.

Frack Action
Brooklyn, New York
Frack Action advocates for a statewide ban
on fracking throughout New York, using a
combi­nation of field organizing, coalition
building and strategic communications.

Friends of the Upper Delaware River
Hancock, New York
Friends of the Upper Delaware River is working
to protect, preserve and enhance the ecosystem and coldwater fishery of the upper
Delaware River system and to address any
environmental threats.

Friends of Van Cortlandt Park
Bronx, New York
Friends of Van Cortlandt Park promotes
the conservation and improvement of Van
Cortlandt Park through environmental education, restoration and enhancement of its
forests and trails.

Global Justice Ecology Project
Buffalo, New York
The Global Justice Ecology Project explores
and exposes the root causes of social injustice—
ecological destruction and economic
domination—through advocacy, media outreach and bridge-building among social
justice, environmental and ecological
justice groups.

Gowanus Canal Conservancy
Brooklyn, New York
The Gowanus Canal Conservancy brings the
Gowanus Canal watershed to life by creating
green space and parkland along its shores;
protecting its water, soil and air; and fostering
a balance of ecological, business and cultural
activity in the region.

HeadCount
New York, New York

Lake George Land Conservancy
Bolton Landing, New York
The Lake George Land Conservancy works
to protect land within the Lake George watershed—from summit to shoreline—to preserve
the world-renowned water quality of this
amazing lake.

Mohonk Preserve
New Paltz, New York
The Mohonk Preserve exists to protect the
Shawangunk Mountains region and inspire
people to care for, enjoy and explore their
natural world.

Natural Resources Defense Council
New York, New York
NRDC helps safeguard the earth—its people,
its plants and animals, and the natural systems
on which all life depends—by combining the
grassroots power of over a million members
and online activists with the courtroom clout
and expertise of hundreds of lawyers, scientists
and other professionals.

New York City Audubon
New York, New York
New York City Audubon exists to protect wild
birds and habitat in the five boroughs, improving
the quality of life for all New Yorkers.

No Impact Project
New York, New York
The No Impact Project uses entertainment,
education and group action to engage new
people in the quest for ways of living that
connect individual happiness with service
to community and habitat

Recycle-a-Bicycle
Brooklyn, New York

HeadCount uses the power of music to register
voters and raise political consciousness, reaching young people and music fans where they
already are—at concerts and online.

Recycle-a-Bicycle runs a community-based
bike shop in New York City that offers job
training, environmental education and other
programs such as Earn-A-Bike, high school
internships, recycled arts workshops and
a kids’ riding club.

Helpman Productions
Brooklyn, New York

Riverkeeper
Ossining, New York

Helpman Productions inspires participation
in critical social issues by producing social
documentaries and outreach campaigns that
spark change.

Riverkeeper serves as a watchdog to defend
the Hudson River and its tributaries through
legal action, education and legislative advocacy, and by operating the Riverkeeper
patrol boat.

Wildlife Conservation Society
Adirondack Program
Saranac Lake, New York
Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack
Program promotes wildlife conservation and
vibrant human communities in the Adirondack
Park through applied research, community
partnerships and public outreach.

North Carolina
American Whitewater
Cullowhee, North Carolina
American Whitewater conserves and restores
our nation’s white-water resources and
enhances opportunities to enjoy them safely
through policy work and volunteer programs.

Appalachian Voices
Boone, North Carolina
Appalachian Voices brings people together
to protect the land, air and water of central
and southern Appalachia, empowering
communities to defend the region’s natural
and cultural heritage.

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
Winston Salem, North Carolina
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation supports
and funds an array of initiatives to preserve
this North Carolina treasure, including programs to build and maintain visitor facilities,
educate children, and restore and conserve
the natural environment.

Conservation Trust for North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
The Conservation Trust for North Carolina
seeks to protect the Blue Ridge Parkway, support the work of 23 land trusts and connect
people to the land.

Dogwood Alliance
Asheville, North Carolina
The Dogwood Alliance mobilizes diverse
voices to defend the forests and communities
of the southern U.S. from destructive
industrial forestry.

Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail brings
together volunteers and communities to build
and promote a 1,000-mile foot trail across
North Carolina from the Great Smokies to the
Outer Banks.

North Carolina Wildlife Federation
Raleigh, North Carolina
North Carolina Wildlife Federation works to be
the leading advocate for North Carolina wildlife
and its habitat.

Piedmont Environmental Alliance
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
This group inspires North Carolinians to
make choices that protect and restore nature,
providing information on sustainability, supporting environmental groups and green
businesses, and leveraging the collective
power of indivi­dual actions to build a sustainable community.

SouthWings
Asheville, North Carolina
SouthWings promotes conservation through
aviation, giving community organizations the
inspiration and evidence they need to take
action to protect and restore the forests, rivers,
coastlines and wetlands of the Southeast.

Wild South
Asheville, North Carolina
Wild South works to protect public land
through creative strategies that address
root problems, and to inspire people to
enjoy, value and protect the wild character
and natural legacy of the South.

North Dakota
Badlands Conservation Alliance
Bismarck, North Dakota
Badlands Conservation Alliance works to
restore and preserve the western North Dakota
badlands and prairie ecosystems within state
and federal public lands.

Dakota Resource Council
Dickinson, North Dakota
The Dakota Resource Council forms local
groups that promote prosperous, environmentally sound rural communities and empower
people to influence decision-making processes
in issues that affect their lives.

Ohio
Buckeye Forest Council
Columbus, Ohio
The Buckeye Forest Council protects Ohio’s
native forests and their inhabitants through
education, advocacy and organizing.

Friends of the
Lower Olentangy Watershed
Columbus, Ohio
Friends of the lower Olentangy Watershed
is working to keep the Olentangy River and
its tributaries clean and safe for all to enjoy
through public education, volunteer activities
and coordinating with decision-makers.

Ohio Environmental Council
Columbus, Ohio
Ohio Environmental Council works to secure
healthy air, land and water for all who call
Ohio home.

Oregon
Bark
Portland, Oregon
Bark is working to transform Mt. Hood National
Forest into a place where natural processes
prevail, where wildlife thrives and where
local communities have a social, cultural
and economic investment in its restoration
and preservation.

Columbia Riverkeeper
Hood River, Oregon
Columbia Riverkeeper is dedicated to protecting
and restoring the water quality of the Columbia
River and all life connected to it.

Community Cycling Center
Portland, Oregon
Community Cycling Center seeks to broaden
access to bicycling and its benefits to build
a vibrant community where people of all
backgrounds use bicycles to stay healthy
and connected.

Crag Law Center
Portland, Oregon
Representing conservation groups and citizens
working for sustainable land management
in the Pacific Northwest, the Crag Law Center
helps clients with not only litigation, but also
civic participation, campaign strategies,
communications, organizing efforts and
media relations.

Deschutes River Alliance
Portland, Oregon
Deschutes River Alliance seeks to protect the
river and its recreational assets through the use
of collaborative, science-based solutions.

Forest Service Employees
for Environmental Ethics
Eugene, Oregon
FSEEE works to protect national forests and
to reform the U.S. Forest Service by advocating
environmental ethics, educating citizens and
defending whistleblowers.

Friends of Tryon Creek
Portland, Oregon
Friends of Tryon Creek works to connect
people to this important natural area, share its
passion for the wonders of nature and inspire
environmental stewardship in all.

Grow Portland
Portland, Oregon
Grow Portland is an entrepreneurial organi­
zation dedicated to the expansion of urban
gardening and urban agriculture in the
Portland metro area to empower its community
to grow healthy food.

Hells Canyon Preservation Council
La Grande, Oregon
This group protects and restores the wild lands,
pure waters, habitats and biodiversity of the
Hells Canyon-Wallowa and Blue Mountain ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest.

Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center
Ashland, Oregon
The K-S Wildlands Center advocates for wildlife, waters and forests in the Klamath and
Rogue River basins of northwest California and
southwest Oregon.

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2015

Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail
Raleigh, North Carolina

Modoc
Hood River, Oregon
Modoc uses stories and film to engage the
populace of the Flint River basin and inform
them of a potentially harmful river engineering
project in their backyard.

hawaii
Our Honolulu and Hale‘iwa stores support three different environmental
groups loosely connected and working together to create ahupua‘a—a traditional method of sustainable watershed management. The groups are working
in the Kane‘ohe region on the windward side of O‘ahu in Hawai‘i. We help them
with grant money, clothing donations and volunteer labor.
Shaped by island geography, historically, every ahupua‘a was a wedgeshaped area of land running from the uplands to the sea and following the
natural boundaries of the watershed. Each ahupua‘a contained the resources
the human community needed—from fish and salt, to fertile land for farming
taro or sweet potato, to koa and other trees growing in upslope areas. It was
understood that the well-being of people in the lower reaches of the ahupua‘a
depended on proper land management from the people in the upper reaches.
Three environmental groups—Papahana Kuaola, Kako‘o Oiwi and Paepae
o He’eia—have the same purpose today. Since 2008, staff and volunteers
of Papahana Kuaola have been restoring the upper He’eia watershed by
removing invasive trees and plants and replanting the land with appropriate
natives. They have also been eradicating invasive aquatic species and reseeding the stream with native o‘opu and invertebrates, like hihiwai and ‘opae
kala‘ole.
Further downstream, in the lower section of the He‘eia watershed, the staff
of Kako‘o Oiwi, along with their local community, have been clearing and
farming over 400 acres of leased land and bringing back agricultural and ecological productivity to this once abundant landscape. Kalo production (taro
plants from which poi is made) in the alluvial wetlands of the He‘eia ahupua‘a is
one of their key priorities of this group, which aims to improve the availability
and accessibility of kalo to local markets.
At the mouth of the He‘eia watershed, Paepae o He‘eia is working to restore
the He’eia fishpond, a 600- to 800-year-old resource and cultural treasure.
Hawaiian fishponds are advanced forms of aquaculture found nowhere else
in the world. The He‘eia Fishpond is walled, enclosing 88 acres of water. The
water is brackish and conducive to the growth of limu (algae) eaten by native
fish. Each year, Paepae o He‘eia hosts over 2,500 volunteers, who learn both
traditional and modern techniques of managing fishponds.

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environmental + social initiatives

The Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides works to reduce the use of pesticides to
protect communities and environmental health.

Oregon Natural Desert Association
Bend, Oregon
ONDA defends and restores Oregon’s high
desert, working to permanently protect
millions of acres of public land that is home
to diverse populations of wildlife.

Pacific Rivers Council
Portland, Oregon
Pacific Rivers Council works to protect and
restore rivers, their watersheds and the native
species that depend on them.

River Network
Portland, Oregon
River Network connects more than 2,000
organizations working to protect America’s
most vital natural resource—water.

Sandy River Basin Watershed Council
Sandy, Oregon
The Sandy River Basin Watershed Council works
together with landowners, public agencies and
community volunteers to protect and restore
the ecological, cultural and historic resources
of the 500-square-mile Sandy River basin.

Sustainable Northwest brings people, ideas
and innovation together so that nature, local
economies and rural communities can thrive.

The Bus Federation Civic Fund
Portland, Oregon
The Bus Federation Civic Fund advances a new
era of democracy that is locally led and publicly
engaged, envisioning a society where young
voters come out to the polls in numbers that
shape the public discourse and are active and
engaged participants.

The Conservation Alliance
Bend, Oregon
The Conservation Alliance engages businesses
to fund and partner with organizations throughout North America to protect wild places for
their habitat and recreation values.

The North Umpqua Foundation
Roseburg, Oregon
The North Umpqua Foundation dedicates itself
to protecting and restoring the north Umpqua
River and its native fish so that future generations can continue to catch a wild steelhead
on a skated dry fly.

Umpqua Watersheds
Roseburg, Oregon
Umpqua Watersheds works for the protection
and restoration of the ecosystems of the
Umpqua watershed and beyond through
education, training and advocacy.

WaterWatch of Oregon
Portland, Oregon
WaterWatch is working to protect and restore
streamflows in Oregon’s rivers for fish, wildlife
and the people who depend on healthy rivers.

Community Environmental
Legal Defense Fund
Mercersburg, Pennsylvania

Conservation Voters of South Carolina
Education Fund
Columbia, South Carolina

The Community Environmental Legal Defense
Fund works to build sustainable communities
by helping people assert their right to local
self-government and promote the rights
of nature.

Conservation Voters of South Carolina
Education Fund seeks to maximize the participation of conservation-minded citizens in
public-policy decisions that affect South
Carolina’s environment and natural resources.

FracTracker Alliance
Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Palmetto Conservation
Columbia, South Carolina

The FracTracker Alliance shares maps, data and
analyses to communicate the impacts of the
global oil and gas industry and inform actions
that positively shape our energy future.

Palmetto Conservation works to conserve
South Carolina’s natural and cultural
resources, preserve historic landmarks and
promote outdoor recreation through trails
and greenway programs.

Friends of Allegheny Wilderness
Warren, Pennsylvania
Friends of Allegheny Wilderness fosters an
appreciation of wilderness values, working with
communities to ensure that increased wilderness protection is a priority in the stewardship
of the Allegheny National Forest.

McKean County Conservation District
Smethport, Pennsylvania
The McKean County Conservation District
provides leadership and stewardship to ensure
the protection and sustainability of McKean
County’s natural resources by fostering public
and private partnerships.

Stroud Water Research Center
Avondale, Pennsylvania
The Stroud Water Research Center seeks
to advance the knowledge of freshwater ecosystems through interdisciplinary research
into all aspects of streams, rivers and
their watersheds.

The Land Conservancy
for Southern Chester County
Unionville, Pennsylvania

Western Environmental Law Center works
to protect and restore western wild lands and
advocates for a healthy environment on behalf
of communities throughout the West.

The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester
County is working to ensure the perpetual
preservation and stewardship of open space,
natural resources, historic sites and working
agricultural lands throughout southern
Chester County.

Pennsylvania
Allegheny Defense Project
Kane, Pennsylvania

Rhode Island
Clean Ocean Access
Newport, Rhode Island

Western Environmental Law Center
Eugene, Oregon

The Allegheny Defense Project defends the
forests and watersheds of the Allegheny
Plateau from commercial logging, oil and gas
drilling, and other extractive industries.

Clean Ocean Access works to eliminate marine
debris from the shoreline, improve water
quality, and encourage healthy watersheds
and marine ecosystems.

Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

South Carolina
Avian Conservation Center
Charleston, South Carolina

Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future seeks to create a just future where nature, communities and
the economy thrive through community outreach, legal services and policy analysis that
transform public opinion and policy to protect
our environment.

The Avian Conservation Center works to identify and address vital environmental issues by
providing medical treatment to injured birds of
prey and shorebirds, and through education,
research and conservation initiatives.

The Outside Foundation
Hilton Head, South Carolina
The Outside Foundation works to get kids
outside and to preserve and protect
our environment.

Upstate Forever
Greenville, South Carolina
Upstate Forever promotes sensible growth and
protects special places in the upstate region
of South Carolina through its land trust, sustainable communities initiatives and clean air
and water programs.

South Dakota
Badlands Natural History Association
Interior, South Dakota
The Badlands Natural History Association seeks
to promote historical, natural, scientific,
educational and interpretive activities within
the National Park Service and other similar
agencies, principally in the northern Plains
states of the United States.

Dakota Rural Action
Brookings, South Dakota
Dakota Rural Action promotes family agriculture and conservation of South Dakota’s
environment and way of life through community organizing aimed at giving people a strong
voice in decisions affecting their quality of life.

Northern Prairies Land Trust
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Northern Prairies Land Trust works to establish
partnerships with landowners to provide
protection for lands that are important for
agriculture, forestry, fish and wildlife habitat
and open space.

Clean Water Expected in East Tennessee is
dedicated to seeing the Pigeon River live up to
its full potential by holding upstream polluters
accountable to the standards set forth by the
Clean Water Act.

EcoRise seeks to inspire a new generation of
leaders to design a sustainable future for all
by empowering middle and high school students to tackle real-world challenges through
environmental literacy, social innovation and
hands-on design.

Great Salt Lake Audubon is dedicated to protecting and enhancing habitat for wild birds,
animals and plants, and to maintaining healthy
and diverse environments for wildlife and
people throughout the state.

Friends of Great Smoky Mountains
National Park
Kodak, Tennessee

Keep Austin Beautiful
Austin, Texas

Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National
Park assists the National Park Service in its
mission to preserve and protect its namesake
by raising funds and public awareness, and
providing volunteers for needed projects.

Keep Austin Beautiful provides resources and
education to engage citizens in building more
beautiful communities.

Ijams Nature Center
Knoxville, Tennessee

Texas Conservation Alliance coordinates
a network of organizations and organizes
broad-based grassroots coalitions that build
support for acquisition of public wildlife lands
and influence Texas water and environmental policies.

Ijams Nature Center encourages stewardship of
the natural world by providing an urban greenspace for people to learn about and enjoy the
outdoors through engaging experiences.

Southern Appalachian
Wilderness Stewards
Tellico Plains, Tennessee
The Southern Appalachian Wilderness
Stewards seeks to educate, cultivate and
empower an engaged public for the
stewardship of protected public lands.

Statewide Organizing for Community
eMpowerment Resource Project
Knoxville, Tennessee
SOCM works on social, economic and
environmental justice issues in 10 counties
and promotes several statewide initiatives,
empowering citizens to effect positive change
in their communities.

Wolf River Conservancy
Memphis, Tennessee
The Wolf River Conservancy is dedicated to the
protection and enhancement of Tennessee’s
Wolf River corridor and watershed as a natural
resource through land trusts, education programs and recreational excursions.

Texas
Alamo Resource Conservation
& Development Area
Boerne, Texas
This group provides a focal point for local leadership to develop and implement strategies
that deliver coordinated resource conservation
and economic development assistance so that
communities thrive.

Austin B-cycle
Austin, Texas
Austin B-cycle seeks to improve the overall
mobility, economy and health of Austin through
a network of on-demand bikeshare stations in
the urban core.

Utah
Bike Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Bike Utah promotes safe cycling in Utah
through advocacy, education and encouraging
people to get out and ride.

Breathe Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Breathe Utah works to improve the air we breathe
through education, collaboration and policy.

Center for Documentary Expression
and Art
Salt Lake City, Utah
Center for Documentary Expression and Art
uses documentary tools to help Utahans better
understand their state’s past and present, and
gaze outward to discover their connection
to the nation and the world.

Friends of Cedar Mesa
Bluff, Utah
Friends of Cedar Mesa seeks to inspire
good stewardship that protects the natural
and cultural integrity of public lands in
San Juan County.

HawkWatch International
Salt Lake City, Utah
HawkWatch International helps conserve the
environment through long-term monitoring
and scientific research on raptors as indicators
of ecosystem health and through school programs and community education.

HEAL Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
HEAL Utah engages citizens in the decisions
that affect their health and environment, promoting clean, sustainable energy, serving as
a watchdog for the nuclear industry and
working to ensure that Utah is never again
downwind from nuclear weapons testing.

Ogden Nature Center
Ogden, Utah
Ogden Nature Center is devoted to uniting
people with nature and nurture, promoting
appreciation and stewardship of the
environment.

Peaceful Uprising
Salt Lake City, Utah
Peaceful Uprising organizes, educates and
inspires the climate movement to demand measurable change in the status quo and to push
confrontation in order to create a livable future.

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Salt Lake City, Utah
SUWA helps preserve wilderness at the heart
of the Colorado Plateau; advocates for sound
management of these lands; and works
to defend them from oil and gas development, unnecessary road construction, off-road
vehicle use and other threats.

The Green Urban Lunch Box
Salt Lake City, Utah
The Green Urban Lunch Box seeks to revitalize
neglected space to grow food for its community,
inspiring people to think creatively about where
their food comes from and how it is grown.

TreeUtah plants trees and educates the next
generation of stewards to protect the natural
environment in Utah.

Uranium Watch
Moab, Utah
Uranium Watch advocates for the protection
of public health and the environment from the
impacts of the uranium and nuclear industries
in Utah through educational campaigns,
research, networking activities and environmental actions.

Utah Clean Energy
Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah Clean Energy works to stop energy
waste, create clean energy and build a smart
energy future by serving as a voice for clean
energy in the utility regulatory arena and
by collaborating with government agencies
and private foundations.

Utah Dine Bikeyah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah Dine Bikeyah works to preserve and
protect the cultural and natural resources
of ancestral Navajo/Dine’ lands to benefit
and bring healing to people and the Earth.

Utah Rivers Council
Salt Lake City, Utah

Grant Recipient

2015

TreeUtah
Salt Lake City, Utah

Adventurers and Scientists
for Conservation
Mission Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation mobilizes the outdoor
community to gather and share scientific data, driving conservation around
the world.
Activities While sailing between Iceland and Greenland, a group of ASC
volunteers collected three liters of ocean water. At trip’s end, they sent the
samples to our partner scientist, who found microscopic plastic particles
in all three liters. Brokering these types of connections is ASC’s bread and
butter. In addition to this worldwide study of microplastics pollution, our
projects include carnivore research in northern Utah, a high-altitude glacial
thinning study on peaks above 17,000 feet and wildlife data collection on the
Great Plains. Our goal is always to provide scientific data for land and wildlife
managers to make better decisions.
Accomplishments Since our founding in 2011, we’ve partnered with thousands of volunteer adventure scientists, among them hikers, climbers,
surfers, paddlers, skiers and cyclists. Combining their outdoor skills with simple scientific protocols and cutting-edge technology, we’ve collected quality,
otherwise-unattainable data. Through our microplastics research, which
is unprecedented in scale, we’ve gathered samples from 780-plus locations
across the ocean. Having found plastic contamination in the vast majority
of these samples, we’ve expanded the project to freshwater in 2015.

The Utah Rivers Council fosters the conservation of Utah’s rivers through grassroots
organizing, advocacy campaigns, education
and litigation.

Wasatch Community Gardens
Salt Lake City, Utah
Wasatch Community Gardens empowers
people of all ages and incomes in Utah’s
Wasatch Front to grow and eat healthy,
organic, local food.

Wild Utah Project
Salt Lake City, Utah
Wild Utah Project works to maintain and
restore the health of natural lands in Utah
and adjoining states by providing scientific
research and technical support to land
managers, citizen activists and other
conservation partners.

Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
of Northern Utah
Farr West, Utah
The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern
Utah seeks to empower the entire community
to support and engage in conservation and
responsible stewardship of wildlife and its habitat through wildlife rehabilitation and raising
public awareness.
photo: KT Miller

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Vermont
1% for the Planet
Waitsfield, Vermont
1% for the Planet seeks to build, support and
activate an alliance of businesses financially
committed to creating a healthy planet.

Phoenix Bikes mentors youth to build, repair
and recycle bikes, providing real-world skills
to the kids and more bikes to the community.

Center for Environmental Law & Policy works
to protect and restore Washington’s rivers and
aquifers through science-based management of
water resources, public education, agency advocacy, policy reform and public-interest litigation.

Piedmont Environmental Council
Warrenton, Virginia
The Piedmont Environmental Council protects
the natural resources, rural economy, history
and beauty of Virginia’s northern Piedmont.

Batten Kill Watershed Alliance exists to provide
excellent stewardship of the Batten Kill watershed in New York and Vermont through
conservation, habitat restoration, and public
education and outreach.

Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
is working to stop the destruction of its communities by surface coal mining, to improve
the quality of life in its area and to help rebuild
sustainable communities.

Columbia Land Trust
Vancouver, Washington

New Haven River Anglers Association
Middlebury, Vermont

The Clinch Coalition
Wise, Virginia

Gifford Pinchot Task Force
Vancouver, Washington

The Clinch Coalition helps protect and
preserve the forests, wildlife and watersheds
of the Clinch Valley Bioreserve in southwestern Virginia by building trails, enhancing
tourism and seeking congressionally designated protection.

Gifford Pinchot Task Force supports the biological diversity and communities of the northwest
U.S. through conservation and restoration of
forests, rivers, fish and wildlife.

The Nature Conservancy
Arlington, Virginia

Grist sets the agenda by showing how green
is reshaping the world, cutting through the
noise and empowering a new generation
to make change.

This group helps protect the New Haven River
watershed by encouraging the management
of trout for the fish’s benefit, promoting youthful anglers through education and working
against water pollution.

Virginia
Center for a New American Dream
Charlottesville, Virginia
Center for a New American Dream helps
Americans to reduce their consumption
to improve their quality of life, protect the
environment and promote social justice.

Center for Health, Environment & Justice
Falls Church, Virginia
The Center for Health, Environment & Justice is
working to empower people to build healthy
communities and prevent harm to human health
caused by exposure to environmental threats.

Friends of the North Fork
of the Shenandoah River
Woodstock, Virginia
Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah
River works to keep the North Fork of the
Shenandoah River clean, healthy and beautiful
through advocacy, community action, education
and science.

Friends of the Rappahannock
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Friends of the Rappahannock is the voice and
force for a healthy and scenic Rappahannock
River, working through advocacy, education
and restoration efforts to protect and enhance
the river.

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The Nature Conservancy helps protect
nature for people today and future generations
by carrying out large-scale, science-based
conservation projects throughout the world.

Columbia Land Trust exists to conserve and
care for vital lands, waters and wildlife of the
Columbia River region.

Grist Magazine
Seattle, Washington

GRuB
Olympia, Washington
GRuB grows healthy food, healthy people and
healthy communities by bringing people
together around the food they eat and the agriculture that produces it.

Hydropower Reform Coalition
Bellingham, Washington

This group educates residents and decisionmakers about critical conservation issues with
the aim of protecting Virginia’s landscape.

The Hydropower Reform Coalition advocates
for river protection and restoration across
the U.S. by improving the performance
of individual hydropower dams regulated
by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Wild Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia

Kettle Range Conservation Group
Republic, Washington

Wild Virginia works to preserve ecosystems
in Virginia’s national forests through education,
encouraging people to voice their opinion
on timber sales and other projects, facilitating
the study of threatened areas and litigating
to protect critical habitat.

Washington
Basel Action Network
Seattle, Washington
Basel Action Network works to advance global
environmental and human health and justice
by preventing toxic trade, promoting a toxicfree future and campaigning for the right
to a pollution-free environment for everyone.

environmental + social initiatives

The Kettle Range Conservation Group defends
wilderness, protects biodiversity and restores
the ecosystems of the Columbia River basin
by working collaboratively with rural, urban,
business, government and community leaders.

Kwiáht Center for the Historical
Ecology of the Salish Sea
Lopez Island, Washington
Kwiáht combines the latest scientific research
methods in ecology, biochemistry and genetics,
with respect for indigenous values, in the
service of good stewardship of cultural and
biological resources in the San Juan and
Gulf islands.

Raincoast Conservation Foundation
Orcas, Washington

Washington Wild
Seattle, Washington

Marine Conservation Institute is dedicated
to securing permanent, strong protection for
the ocean’s most important places.

This team of conservationists and scientists
is working to protect the lands, waters and
wildlife of coastal British Columbia through
advocacy, science, applied ethics and grassroots activism.

Washington Wild works to protect and
restore wild lands and waters in the state
of Washington through advocacy, education
and civic engagement.

Methow Valley Citizens’ Council
Twisp, Washington
The Methow Valley Citizens’ Council is devoted
to raising a strong community voice for protection of the Methow Valley’s natural environment
and rural character.

National Forest Foundation
Seattle, Washington
The National Forest Foundation engages
Americans in community-based and national
programs that promote the health and public
enjoyment of the 193-million-acre National
Forest System, and administers private gifts
for the benefit of national forests.

Rivers Without Borders
Clinton, Washington
Rivers Without Borders promotes the extraordinary ecological and cultural values of
Alaska-British Columbia transboundary watersheds and strives to keep them wild, intact
and thriving.

The Wild Fish Conservancy seeks to improve
conditions for all of the Northwest’s wild
fish by researching their populations and
habitats, advocating for better land use,
harvest and management, and carrying
out restor­ation projects.

The Wild Steelhead Coalition helps increase
the return of wild steelhead to the rivers and
streams of the Pacific Northwest by building
partnerships, educating stakeholders and
helping to improve policy on behalf of the fish.

Nature Consortium
Seattle, Washington

Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group
Mount Vernon, Washington

Nature Consortium is devoted to connecting
people, arts and nature.

The Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group
builds partnerships that educate and engage
the community in habitat restoration and
watershed stewardship to enhance wild
salmonid populations.

Northwest Natural Resource Group
Seattle, Washington
The Northwest Natural Resource Group helps
woodland owners optimize the economic
and ecological potential of their land through
conservation-based forest management.

Other 98%
Vashon, Washington
The mission of the Other 98% is simple but
bold: to be a storytelling force that educates
people in a way that stirs them to action.

Pronto Cycle Share
Seattle, Washington
Pronto Cycle Share is working to provide residents and visitors access to a low-cost, fast,
flexible and convenient transportation alternative with economic, social and environmental
benefits to the region.

The Lands Council
Spokane, Washington
The Lands Council safeguards and revitalizes
the inland Northwest’s forests, water and wildlife through advocacy, education, action and
community engagement.

Trout Unlimited
N. Kitsap-Bainbridge Chapter
Bainbridge Island, Washington
This chapter of Trout Unlimited is dedicated to
protecting, restoring and sustaining local coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.

Washington Council of Trout Unlimited
Easton, Washington
The Washington Council of Trout Unlimited
works to conserve, protect and restore
coldwater fisheries, and their watersheds
and ecosystems as a means of maintaining
quality of life.

Wildlands Network
Seattle, Washington
This group of ranchers, hunters, anglers and
conservation partners works scientifically
and strategically to protect and foster enough
wild places and connective wildways in North
America to sustain wildlife and people through
the 21st century.

West Virginia
American Conservation Film Festival
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
The American Conservation Film Festival
is dedicated to promoting outstanding films
and the arts to educate and inspire people
to become engaged in conservation issues.

Appalachian Mountain Advocates
Lewisburg, West Virginia
This group works to protect Appalachian
communities and the environment by strengthening environmental laws and using the law
to require extractive industries to internalize
their costs.

Coal River Mountain Watch
Naoma, West Virginia
Coal River Mountain Watch is dedicated to
stopping the destruction of West Virginia’s
communities and environment caused by
mountaintop-removal mining, improving the
quality of life in its area and rebuilding sustainable communities.

Friends of Blackwater
Charleston, West Virginia
Friends of Blackwater works to protect the
ecology, spectacular landscapes, outdoor
recreation and heritage of the High Allegheny
Mountains of West Virginia through public
outreach, advocacy and restoration.

The Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter of Trout Unlimited
works to conserve, protect and restore coldwater fisheries and their watersheds in Polk,
Pierce and St. Croix counties of Wisconsin, and
to ensure access to fishable coldwater streams.

Bighorn Climbers’ Coalition is dedicated
to preserving, protecting and promoting
access to climbing resources in the Bighorn
Mountains and Bighorn Basin of Wyoming.

SkyTruth
Shepherdstown, West Virginia

Native American
Educational Technologies
Hayward, Wisconsin

SkyTruth motivates and empowers new constituencies for environmental protection by using
satellite images and other visual technologies
to illustrate environmental issues.

Native American Educational Technologies
works to protect and preserve the air, land,
water and traditional lifestyle of Lake Superior’s
Chippewa tribes.

The Alliance for Appalachia
Fayetteville, West Virginia

River Alliance of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin

The Alliance for Appalachia is working to end
mountaintop removal, put a halt to destructive
coal technologies and support a just and sustainable Appalachia.

This group helps the flowing waters of Wisconsin
by bringing people to rivers to appreciate their
beauty and needs, engaging with government
agencies and empowering citizens and grassroots groups to effect positive change.

West Virginia Rivers Coalition
Charleston, West Virginia
This group fosters the conservation and restoration of West Virginia’s rivers and streams
by improving public participation, publishing
informational reports and serving as a knowledgeable resource for other watershed groups
and decision-makers.

West Virginia Wilderness Coalition
Elkins, West Virginia
Permanent protection for West Virginia’s
special lands through legislative or admini­
strative designations is the goal of the West
Virginia Wilderness Coalition.

Wisconsin
350 Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
350 Madison Climate Action Team is dedicated
to reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide below
350 parts per million by working locally in concert with a powerful global movement.

Clean Lakes Alliance
Madison, Wisconsin
Clean Lakes Alliance is working to improve
the water quality of the lakes, streams and
wetlands of the Yahara River watershed with
specific focus on reducing phosphorus inputs
into its lakes.

Friends of the Kinni
River Falls, Wisconsin
Friends of the Kinni is devoted to see the
Kinnickinnic River flowing freely again by supporting the FERC relicensing process as a way
to understand the dams and their economics,
and to understand the health of the river.

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St. Croix River Association
St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin
St. Croix River Association works to protect,
restore and celebrate the St. Croix River and
its watershed.

Upper Mississippi River
Interpretive Association
Onalaska, Wisconsin
The Upper Mississippi River Interpretive
Association supports activities of the upper
Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish
Refuge and provides opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation, education and
scientific research.

Wyoming
1% for the Tetons
Jackson, Wyoming
1% for the Tetons works to sustain the Tetons
area’s natural resources and related qualities
by awarding high-leverage grants to forwardlooking projects.

Acceso PanAm
Jackson, Wyoming
Acceso PanAm is a climbers access and
conservation organization dedicated to protecting climbing environments and building
a grassroots approach to conservation and
stewardship in all the Americas.

environmental + social initiatives

Citizens for the Wyoming Range
Bondurant, Wyoming
Citizens for the Wyoming Range represents a
diverse association of groups and individuals
working together to permanently protect the
Wyoming Range from oil and gas leasing
and development.

Grand Teton National Park Foundation
Moose, Wyoming
Grand Teton National Park Foundation funds
projects that enhance its namesake’s cultural,
historic and natural resources and helps others
learn about all that is special in the park.

Powder River Basin Resource Council
Sheridan, Wyoming
This group advocates for the responsible use
of the Powder River basin’s natural resources
by educating and encouraging citizens to raise
a coherent voice in decisions that will impact
their environment.

Wyoming Outdoor Council
Lander, Wyoming
The Wyoming Outdoor Council helps protect
Wyoming’s treasured landscapes, healthy wildlife, and clean air and water through advocacy
work and coalition-building.